Vice
by fan-nerd
Summary: The two of them face the same problems as many other teenage boys. They had curiosity, confusion, and a variety of daily circumstances to face, including their active longing for physical relationships. As it turns out, just sleeping with your best friend isn't the end of the story, and staying together the day after, well, somehow, it works. Yu/Yosuke. AU.
1. Full Disclosure

A/N: Well, this starts off sad, and then takes a swift turn for the kinky, and doesn't let up after that at all. This also happens to be the longest first chapter of anything I've written ever. AU, takes place starting in their junior year, or Japanese second year in High School. Enjoy!

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_**Vice**_

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"_I don't know the question, but sex is definitely the answer."_

– Woody Allen

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When the silver-haired stoic moves to town, Yosuke is simply ecstatic to talk to somebody about the big city—they are from the same place, and when Yu starts to talk about his old middle school, the brunette gets even more loud-mouthed, gaping, and chatting on and on about how it was only twenty minutes from his old place. Usually, Satonaka or Amagi would've chimed in to tell him how annoying he was being, and ask, 'do you really hate it here all that much', to which he would've begrudgingly answered 'no', but the new kid was a patient listener. He seemed mostly amused at his new acquaintance's antics, laughing at all the right places, and Yosuke could've cried in appreciation. Chie and Yukiko sighed and introduced themselves at some point, and the four of them were fast friends.

Yosuke and Yu hung out quite frequently on the weekends, with or without their female companions, and made new friends at a couple of parties they visited during the first couple months they were getting to know each other. The brown-haired mischief maker liked to see exactly how far he could push his parents without getting into trouble, but really enjoyed his family after all, played acoustic guitar with an embarrassed look, as well as a professional ear, and couldn't seem to get a C in literature or mathematics without the aid of a goddess. That wasn't to say he was a fool—at times, his friend was wiser than anyone gave him credit for. He had a lot of deep thoughts about things, and shared information about his personal life hesitantly, for someone who liked to talk so much about any and everything.

Once, about four or five months after they had met, Yosuke had shared that an ex-girlfriend of his had died in an accident shortly after breaking up with him, leaving a nasty note for him that he received at the funeral, and it only made him all the more upset that he hadn't properly made up with her before her passing. The brunette then asked Yu, his closest friend—his _best_ friend, he would later amend—to slug him one, shake him out of his thoughts the only way that made sense to him, since he deemed himself quite the simpleton. The silver-haired city boy thought the idea ridiculous, told him so, and was staggered to find Yosuke slamming his fist into his gut on a side-road after school. Riled up after that hit, Yu tackled his friend back into the pavement, and punched hard enough to leave a bruise just under his left eye. They tousled for another five or ten minutes, but it felt like an eternity, really, and then laughed together, bleeding, scraped and bruised, hair and clothes messed up from the encounter. In the aftermath of their fight, Yu shared some of his personal struggles and fears, perhaps not so trapped in the past as his brown-haired friend, but unspeakably lonely, and feeling abandoned by his parents. But he'd grown fond of his uncle and cousin, whom he currently lived with, and had grown to appreciate their little spats at home. It made their family feel real.

Yosuke smiled a little bit at nothing, his eyes turning towards the graying clouds above them. In return for his honesty and trust, he'd spoken again. Saying something about how cool Yu was, he declared that this was the first day of his new life—he would truly start living in the moment, and stop trying to make himself fit in, because he felt like a poser, and he was done. Their two friends didn't seem to care that he cracked lame jokes, and worked for a store that was putting the mom-and-pops out—they liked him anyways, and that was more than good enough. "And I've got you," Yosuke finished, pushing himself off of the ground before offering his best friend a hand up. "Thanks. You don't know how much I appreciate it."

"No problem," Yu replied with a smile of his own, although his was distorted, due to a bloody lip. They leaned against each other on the way home, limping and sharing light-hearted jokes.

A couple weeks after this found the silver-haired transferee absent from school for family reasons. His parents had returned to his city home for a short period, and he needed to see them about a few things, so he told Yosuke to tell everyone else he would be gone that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Chie and Yukiko looked disappointed. Apparently, they were going to invite their mutual friends, the budding starlet, the young part-time detective, and the endearingly stupid underclassman, to go bowling this weekend.

The girls had met by accident at a small coffee shop on the outskirts of town, when Rise had found herself lost and stranded there, having wandered from her caravan whilst half-asleep, and desperate to find them and get back on the road. Satonaka and Amagi had kept her company for hours while they drove back to retrieve her, telling jokes and learning something of her private life, making fast friends with her. She fit right in with the rest, but they didn't see much of her, as she wasn't a full-time student. The detective, they'd met through a messy incident—Yu and he had been just outside of crime scene, completely unaware that someone had been robbing the store they were stopping in while they were there. They explained away their accused guilt, further proven by store tapes and the like, but they'd spent so much time with Naoto and Yu's uncle, who was also a detective, that they felt like they were acquainted already. As it turned out, the little spitfire was a girl with the mannerisms of a boy, and a lonely sort that hung out in the cafeteria by herself, so they'd invited her to sit with them, and she was eternally grateful. The blonde, their other pal, he'd tripped himself into a lot of bad situations, and had been almost arrested, by Naoto no less, more than five times. All he wanted to do was keep bad folk out of his Ma's place, and it'd turned into all-out brawls, and he looked like a thug to boot. But he had a soft heart, especially for delicate needlework, and about as much of a mind for school as Yosuke. The only other person, whom they saw from time to time, was a cheery boy that was friends with Nanako, and stayed with Yosuke if he was having a hard time with his adopted parents. The two of them got along famously, despite their protests, and their motley crew centered around Yu. Hearing that he couldn't come when they'd finally gotten ahold of everyone put quite a damper on their plans.

Yosuke frowned along with the girls in his class, and let out a deep sigh, musing. "I know he's hardly ever absent, but it's just so weird when he's gone."

Chie rolled her brown eyes, plopping into her seat with a resignation about the day, already knowing that it was bound to be insufferably boring without her seat neighbor to snicker about teachers and to explain things she didn't understand completely. "You know, Hanamura, you two are close, but I never hear you talk about anyone else these days. Everything that comes out of your mouth is 'Yu did this' and 'Yu did that'." She'd meant it to be a jab in jest, even adding a little snicker at the end as she went on, her falsetto supposed to be an impression of her auburn-haired friend. "'Yu, I thought about you all night! I'm just so depressed when you're not at school. Alas! Woe is me.'"

Yosuke flushed up to his ears and hissed for her to stop. "I _do not_ sound even a little bit like that," He ground out the words over Yukiko's snort and then sudden full-out laughter. "Where's a friend to back you up when you need 'im?" He muttered, only making Chie and Amagi laugh even louder, pounding their fists and poking fun at their sulking friend. "Yeah, yeah! Laugh it up, you two. You'll have your turn." They have the end of their mocking session after another ten or so minutes, and class begins. The day is hellishly boring, as he and Chie had thought it would be, and Yosuke finds himself dozing off before second period is over.

With a yawn, Yosuke says goodbye to this horrendous day, and the next two in the same manner, but Saturday's classes come to a close and Satonaka pulls him aside, so he jokes around that she's asking for tips on how to catch a guy, but she turns serious, so he shuts up. "Hanamura," She starts, abnormally quiet for a typical beginning of their half-day off. "Are you and Narukami…y'know, an item? Because if you are, that's fine, but I'd just want to know." Yosuke gives her this look, and she looks exasperated. "Don't gape at me like that! I've seen the way you two look at each other sometimes. I almost wish you two _would_ make out, just so you could cut the tension."

Now he _knows_ he's gaping like a fish. "What in the actual _hell_ brought this entire conversation on? If this is because of that one time I said you didn't have nice legs—"

"What?! _No_!" Chie looked outdone, and stomped her foot for attention, flushing. "And that's beside the point! I was just saying it because, well…" She got quiet again, and Yosuke winced. "It's been a year. You know. Since _then_."

The brunette male remembers with a horrid lurch exactly what she's bringing up. His head swims and swirls, and he feels like his knees are about to give out, and since she's bringing it up, he wishes like he's never wished before that his best friend were here. "Shit. I forgot."

Satonaka looks torn between confused and pleased at the news, and makes a quiet comment. "That's…that's great. I thought you'd been looking perkier lately, but I just thought, y'know, maybe Narukami-kun had something to with it."

It takes a moment for Yosuke to swim out of his thoughts, and when he finally does, he manages, "I can't say he had nothing to do with it. He's a good _friend_," He stresses the last word, but even though he says it, he can't deny he's never had…stranger thoughts about his best buddy. "Jesus…I guess I should go…visit her grave or something."

"You don't have to, Hanamura…I wouldn't want you to go alone. Her family'll be there today too, I bet." Now _there_ was a good train of thought if he'd ever heard one. The Konishi family hated him on principle, thinking that he was the reason their daughter was in such a hurry to get out of town, and _fast_, which had landed her upside down in the car of a stranger, face and limbs mangled beyond repair. "Maybe you should wait…go visit tomorrow. Narukami'd go with you in a heartbeat."

A strange wash of varying emotions passes over Yosuke, but he eventually settles on agreeing with Chie, leaving school feeling nauseous, and cradling his cellular phone in his palm like a lifeline. He texts Yu something that is probably barely comprehensible, but his friend shoots a message back that feels like what he might imagine be Buddha's tolerance and he lets the relief wash over him like a wave. Before the conversation is over, they've decided to go Saki's grave tomorrow afternoon, and then they talk about nothing important until Yu falls asleep around midnight. Yosuke strums at his guitar solemnly, keeping quiet for fear of waking his parents, and listening, as the calm night outside remained drier than the brunette felt was wholly necessary. Quietly, he wished it would rain, if only so that he wasn't alone in that room with his music and his thoughts.

With very little sleep, he met Yu at the train station on his bicycle, offering him a ride to the graveyard, only a mile or maybe two away. He peddled without talking to his friend, who for his part stayed very quiet, gripping the bike at times, and Yosuke's waist at others.

They stand there, and for a long time Yosuke doesn't say anything, and the only thing he'd brought was a plastic-wrapped cluster of mochi. "She didn't like flowers," He said after a while, smiling at the memory. "But she had a sweet tooth."

"Do you miss her?" Yu asked.

The other teen shrugged. "Sometimes." He ran a finger over the grooves that spelled her name out. "But the more time passes, the more I forget her. I keep making up things." As he straightens himself back up, he flashes the silver-haired young man a sad smile. "I'll be alright." When they walk back to the bike, the taller of the two slips his hand into the grieving shorter of the two, and neither of them says a word about it, because it feels right. That evening, when they head back to Yosuke's quiet, overly large home, they curl together and watch a film, and the brunette forgets more about what Saki smelled like, because Yu's scent fills his nose. He smells like spices and something nice, like cologne, maybe, and perhaps like grass, from being out in a field of graves with him for some time this afternoon.

When he leaves, Yosuke half-watches a pornographic film to assure himself that he is still a heterosexual, but the actress does not have a smell he can imagine, nor hair he can touch, so this trial is abandoned with a sigh.

Somewhere along the way, his misery about Saki-senpai's death has begun to manifest itself in a very different way, but he won't know this is happening for some time longer.

x

The holidays are fast approaching, and, as per usual, people are scrambling to get gifts for their families. Whether they are shopping for their children, which means that the adults are crowding the electronic isles, lined up for the latest gadgets for their special little pride and joys, or getting collections of eerily painted santas for grandma (and that purchase makes Yosuke force his smile more than usual, but he rings it up with that cheesy grin and tries to forget the one practically glaring at him as the scanner reads the barcode), the store is unbelievably busy, and he is not off for at least two more hours.

Naoto, Yu, and Chie he can see in the distance, looking at various outfits for Naoto's dinner date with her grandfather. Although she disguises it behind big words and excuses, she is excited for the evening, and loves her grandfather very much, feeling as though he has raised her more than her parents ever could have. They try suits, dresses, casualwear, but nothing seems to click until they see something that is unusually flashy, for the androgynous young woman. It's a displayed outfit—a low cut, black-and-white striped shirt, with a teal blazer, its' sleeves rolled up neatly so that they would lie on the forearms just after one's elbows, and a slim black skirt. She flushes and stammers, but reaches for the coat rack next to it, so Chie encourages her, and pushes her towards the dressing rooms.

Yosuke spots Yu waiting awkwardly as he comes to return clothes from the men's dressing room across from the ladies', and grins. "Out shopping, sir?" Gray eyes blink up at him before rolling.

"Waiting on Chie and Naoto," He replied easily, happy to see his friend. "Do you usually work this late?"

"Only for the holidays. Dad's never got enough hands to help out 'round this time of year, of course. No personal shopping to get done?"

"I finished my shopping weeks ago," Yu answered, and Yosuke snorted, figuring such behavior quite typical of him. "What're you doing after work?"

"Dunno. You wanna hang or something?" The brunette is absently hoping that his friend will say yes, because he's been bored out of his mind this whole week, while school's been out. Work keeps his hands busy, but not his mind, and he goes stir crazy if he doesn't have company every week or so, even if the person and he are not particularly close.

"Yeah. I was going to send you a text when we had finished up here, but I'm glad I got to see you in person." Narukami said some of the cheesiest things, but coming from him, it felt like the words of an angel. "My uncle and his daughter are going to spend time with his ex-wife's side of the family this week, and I was in no particular mood to go back to my house in Tokyo, so I agreed to keep watch over their home." There was a lot he didn't say there, but Yosuke got the gist of things. Yu was lonely and bored too.

"I get off about seven tonight—that's when things'll start slowing up. Given that my bike doesn't fall apart on the way, I'll probably be there around seven thirty." The bike part was a joke, but held truth to it. He had crashed his cycle on the way to his friend's house more than once, delaying their supposed meeting time. The silver-haired teen laughed at the reminder. Naoto appeared from the dressing room, beet red, but she looked absolutely stunning. With her chest unbound, she filled her clothes quite famously, and looked both professional and lovely. Yu and Yosuke did their part by catcalling and clapping for her, and she stammered an insult that held no weight, just before hurrying back to get into her regular clothes. The brunette checked the store just afterwards, and waved. "See ya later," He told his friend, and hurried to ask a woman a few paces away if she needed assistance.

As promised, Yosuke had arrived at Yu's place, tired from having gone to work, but happier to be there than he'd been all week. Opening the door in his lazy clothes, Yu looked comfortable, smiling lazily at Yosuke's bag. Almost like they'd planned it beforehand, the brunette had a bag full of things for the evening, and had brought it with him to Junes that morning. He threw the bag into Yu's room after stepping out of his outdoor shoes and into a pair of guest slippers. On his way back down, he made a pleased noise and made a passing comment. "Something smells nice. Is that curry?"

"I remember the last time I made it, you practically slobbered all over my lunchbox," Narukami teased, and Hanamura floundered about, trying to defend himself, but ending up joking about the gods of curry, or something equally silly. "So this time I made plenty for the both of us."

"Partner, you are god amongst men," Yosuke hummed delightedly, staring at his friend plating the food and feeling the saliva come to his mouth, decidedly hungrier than he'd thought he was just minutes ago. Just a few minutes later, they both had steaming plates of rice and delicious-looking curry in front of them, and freshly polished spoons. They both clapped their hands together and murmured their thanks before digging in, Yosuke with more gusto than Yu. Making a noise that could've been sinful, the brunette breathed out of his nose and swallowed hurriedly, despite the temperature of the food.

Yu chuckled lowly, eating more reasonably. "It's not going to go anywhere."

The brunette smiled with his mouth closed before swallowing and saying, "You don't know that. The pot could just up and walk out the door. I'm not takin' any chances."

He snorted. "If you say so." They ate—Yosuke two and half plates—before playing games, and as the night slipped into the wee hours, the two found themselves huddled together on the couch of the Dojimas' living room. Although Yosuke was just on the edges of sleep, something about the situation was making his mind run a thousand miles a minute. When Yu broke the tension, it was with a sentence he honestly thought that he had misheard. "I want to kiss you."

Eloquently, the brunette replied, "…Excuse me?"

Gray eyes focused on him, and the brunette felt heat rise in his face, all of the sudden realizing that they were _wayyyy_ too close. He could feel Yu breathing, gray eyes studying his face, which was probably turning redder by the second. A cool hand pressed against his thigh, and Yosuke yipped nervously. "Could I?" He was asking, but it didn't feel like a question. Yu leaned closer to his friend—they were _supposed_ to be friends, right—and connected their lips in a chaste kiss, and it lasted only a moment before he pulled away, eyes still busy drinking him in. Yosuke knew he was blushing, and it was so hard to breathe right now.

"This is wrong," Yosuke whispered, but he found himself leaning against Yu, noses brushing, his fingers wandering towards his friend—could he still call him that?—specifically, towards his waist. He didn't fight the kiss, which quickly escalated from brief and chaste to wet and messy in a matter of moments. His hands, which had started at Yu's back, were now tangling in his hair, and he just couldn't get enough. Their tongues were battling out, and he was breathless, but he just couldn't find it in him to care. The silver-haired teen felt warm, and boy, was Yu getting a reaction out of the brunette. When they pulled apart, it wasn't for long, and their teeth clinked accidentally in their third kiss, each one becoming rougher and longer.

They both felt restricted. Buttons were coming undone, and Yosuke was sucking at Narukami's nape, tentatively touching his chest and back, like he was afraid that what he was touching might reach out and attack him if he went too quickly. Yu was trailing inexperienced kisses around the brunette's chin and chest after he'd undone his shirt and found his fingers hesitating on the seam of Yosuke's jeans. "We should…go upstairs," Yu breathed, gray connecting with amber, lips set in a shaky smile he couldn't explain.

"Yeah," Yosuke agreed, just moments before they were at each other's lips and hair again, biting and licking, and _jesus fuck_, when they pulled away, the brown haired teen knew they needed to get upstairs, _pronto_, or they were going to have a hell of time explaining to Dojima why there was a stain on his couch. They clambered up, still half clinging to each other, and Yu finished tossing his shirt off just before they made it to his room, Yosuke following suit. They shimmied out of their pants just as quickly, feeling the cool air of the previously empty bedroom hit their skin, but now they could not stop. When the silver-haired teen took hold of his friend's erection, noting in the back of his mind that he didn't remember where he'd put Yosuke's headphones, the noise the shorter male made went straight to his groin, and he was sure he never wanted to remember. He touched Yosuke much like he might've touched himself, if only a little more cautiously, because this was skin he didn't know, and sensitive spots he hadn't yet memorized. It took a few minutes of trying, and yips and groans and moans from Yosuke before he got the hang of it, but he was then gently pressing on the brunette's balls and stroking his member and his friend looked flushed and sexier than Yu had imagined he might've.

When Yu took a moment to gaze at Yosuke, whose mouth was open and eyes closed in pleasure, he slowly took the brunette's hand, forcing amber eyes open again. He guided calloused fingers, pressured from playing the guitar—he was a lefty, and therefore his right hand was more worn—to his own currently strained erection, feeling himself twitch as Yosuke was at first panicked, and then curious, and then bold. Those same string-pressed digits were wandering around his lower half through the cloth, feeling for the size of his penis and listening to the signs of the reaction caused in its' owner. As he was being stroked himself, and getting closer and closer to an ejaculation, he wanted to touch his partner—funny how much words changed in one setting; just a couple hours ago, he'd meant it as his best friend, and now look at them—and Yu, apparently, appreciated the attention just as much as he did. Yosuke was leaking precum, and shut his eyes, moaning softly, but didn't give up just yet, feeling as though he couldn't be outdone in this moment. So he worked Yu over, knowing his fingers were callous, knowing how he liked it done, and how he came the most quickly, and hoping that the silver-haired male was similarly structured. He felt accomplished when the precum started flowing just after his own, but was then stricken by a heavy feeling of dread, and almost fell limp because of it. He felt even worse because he saw Yu beginning to kneel down, hoping that it meant what he thought it meant, but at the same time hoping against all hope that he was wrong. As if sensing his panic, Yu looked up at him with concern, hand hovering between his balls and dick, playing with the sensitive skin between his thighs, and causing tremors to pass between Yosuke's legs. "What's the matter?"

"I know we're too far gone to say that I want to stop but, um," Now he was quivering for an entirely different reason, and now he felt the shame heat his face. "Like, at first I was all geared up for this, which is _completely_ crazy, and everything just sort of felt right, so, I kind of feel incredibly dumb for saying this—"

"Get to the point, Yosuke," Yu was understandably impatient, and Yosuke felt stupid for beating around the bush, so he flushed even darker and got to the point.

"I have to piss!" He squeaked, and felt Yu laugh more than he saw it. Turning so he didn't have to look at him, he pouted. "S'not funny." But then, the strangest thing happened, and Yu smirked that special smirk, continuing his ministrations as though Yosuke had never said a word. His friend yelped when he felt the tongue against him, his erection back at full force despite his need to go to the restroom. "What the hell are you _doing_?"

"I'm trying to relieve the problem," Yu said it so simply, like he was explaining a simple equation to a child.

"Dude, that's wrong on so many levels that I don't even know where toooooo—_ahhhhh—" _The teasing, fleeting sensation of his tongue going up and down, underneath, around, but never fully around his cock left him longing, but he couldn't say that, knowing he had to pee this badly.

Yu got back to stroking his friend's length whilst exploring the foreign territory of Yosuke's ass—lovingly carved, not too muscular, or as small as it appeared in jeans, the twitching inkling of cum and lurking threat of urination hung heavy in the air, but _damn_ it felt so good. Almost forgetting himself and letting go, the brunette had to shake reasonable thoughts back into his head. He even stopped the hand job he'd been giving Yu in reciprocation in hopes that it might curb the silver-haired male's enthusiasm.

"Just…lemme go pee and…we'll go at it again," Yosuke promised, leaning into his friend's touches in areas he'd never even thought about being pursued thoughtlessly, almost hoping that he'd just try sticking his finger in that hole, if for nothing more than satisfying his unspoken curiosity.

Yu suddenly stood up once more, and the brunette sighed internally, thinking that he'd gotten his head back on his shoulders, but instead his reasoning had only become more clouded. He came behind Yosuke suddenly, rubbing his erection against the shorter male's ass, one hand going back to the brunette's eager front side, and the other supporting him around the chest. "Just stop thinking…and let go." He moved rhythmically, back and forth, his penis touching Yosuke's ballsack at the end of every push-pull movement, and his hand's helpful gestures were only making the brunette lose his composure more quickly. He forgot how he was supposed to breathe, caught between heady moans, his spine arching into the curve of Yu's chest like they were already a well oiled machine, and he wasn't even inside him. Blinded by lust and the moment, Yosuke wondered why he _wasn't_ inside of him, not when this felt this good, and just as those talented fingers started moving around, he let it go, eyes clenched shut and as he came first, and then urinated, he just felt better than he'd felt in ages. He felt like crying a little bit, and so he did, feeling rather stupid and incredibly free all the same.

Yu started lapping up his tears and then kissing him, with full tongue, despite the round of hiccups buried in his throat. "You don't…think I'm disgusting?"

The silver-haired youth blinked as if confused, and pressed a small kiss to his cheek. "I think you're gorgeous." Surveying the scene a bit, Yosuke was filthily covered with his and the other male's seed, covered with quickly drying, sticky urine, and Yu was similarly dripping, although only with white substance, leaking into the underpants he'd never managed to get past his thighs. "And I think I'll be researching the proper method to have sex between two males tomorrow."

Yosuke had to laugh, what with Yu sounding like a walking dictionary, even after the quite frankly ridiculous scene they'd just created. "You're kind of a kinky bastard."

"If that means you'd do it again, then yes, I absolutely am." Yosuke groaned, wondering exactly what he'd gotten himself into.

The holidays have come and passed, and Yosuke is caught in a strange whirlwind of feelings. In just the past few days, he'd gone from thinking about his dead ex-girlfriend, whom he had dated just shortly after moving here for seven or eight weeks, who had then died a week or two after they'd broken up, to being bored out of his mind at his dad's store, to thinking about how incredibly indecent he'd been at Yu's house. Shortly following the incident, the brunette had pondered on how long, exactly, that stony façade had been hiding these secret desires from not only him, but their friends, too. He wanted to feel worse that his first truly sexual encounter was with a man, but somehow, it just didn't matter to him as much as he'd thought it would.

x

For Christmas, Yu had given all of them well-thought-out gifts. For Chie, he had bought her a pair of shoes and gotten a book, courtesy of his uncle, about joining the police force, after that one time months ago she'd mentioned her interest, in passing, of joining the police force. Yukiko had received a book of simple recipes, apparently hand-written by the gift giver himself, with notes and reminders scribbled especially for her, as well as a new shawl to go with her yukata for winter. Naoto, he had given a card for the cute store she liked to pretend that she didn't like, and had made a large print out of articles featuring her family's positive showings in the media, knowing that she appreciated the gesture. Kanji, he had gotten him a subscription to the knitted figurine magazine he secretly adored, as well as a discount at a gym nearby, hoping it would encourage him to go work off some of his frustration, instead of getting into fights. Rise, he knew had been ogling a bracelet that Yu and his cousin had sported once, so he made her a whole set of jewelry, which she proudly sported at her following live concert. Teddie, he'd gotten an electric helicopter, after seeing his fascination with Nanako's, and a new sweater, as he was frankly tired of seeing his older, raggedy one. Yosuke, well…aside from the practically fantastic (albeit strange) evening he'd presented him with, he'd given him a new pair of headphones that looked rather similar to his old ones, a pair of raggedly red ones, but had two sets of plug ins at the end that the user could change manually. One of the set was made for listening to mp3 players and personal computers, and the other was for listening to recordings, and amplifiers and the like. Everything was so perfect and personal, and they wondered aloud where he'd gotten the funds for such lovely gifts.

He'd shrugged, and rather than answering properly, he'd said, "You guys are worth it." After that, none of them had seen much of each other, what with everyone hanging out with their families for New Year's, so the brunette continued to text Yu without talking about anything in particular until school started back.

The first week or so found him and his "friend"—boyfriend? Friends with benefits? Sex buddy? Partner?—becoming busier than usual. Clubs seemed to be recruiting, and if they didn't want one of them to join, they sure as hell needed a favor, and Mr. Hanamura seemed to need all the help he could get, so Yosuke sighed and offered his assistance, giving his dad a chance to relax and smile at him. So things were hurrying right along towards Valentine's at an alarming pace, and the week before things got crazy, with what seemed like every girl in school gunning for Yu Narukami's shoebox, the silver-haired junior managed to find a day where neither or Yosuke were swamped, and decided that they should go have lunch at the outskirts of town, so no one would bother them.

They sighed and then smiled while talking about it, taking the first few minutes before ordering to catch up on what the other had been up to. Yosuke detailed his hellish life at Junes, coupled with the brat Teddie that he just couldn't hate, and his mom and dad talking at him about deciding his future. It was all very frustrating and fast-paced, but he told his friend that he was happy to have been asked out this afternoon. Thinking about it later, he would berate himself for sounding almost desperate, but Yu didn't seem to think much of it.

Yu, on the other hand, told him that he'd been speaking with his parents recently as well, about their pending move back to Tokyo. He'd decided not to move back in with them when they came, preferring to finish school out in the sticks, with the friends he'd made. Upon this part of his talk, he locked eyes with the brunette for almost too long, and they both flushed pink. Continuing, he said that the basketball club wanted to go to some tournament or another, the drama club needed help with their latest production's sets, and Chie was bordering on failing something, so he and Yukiko had agreed to help her at least pass. Yosuke grumbled that they could've invited him too, because he was probably in just as much hot water as she was, but Yu said he had, and the brunette had replied that he was busy, at least via text message. He thought back to the day, and remembered the kid throwing up on isle seven with a grimace, apologizing.

After another five or so minutes of chatting, Yu finished his drink, and their food was placed in front of them. The woman in charge of the establishment offered him a refill, but the silver-haired junior politely declined. They ate with little chatter passing between them, because they'd both been rather famished. But as Yosuke came to a halt, his plate clean maybe more slowly than usual, Yu looked up. "What're you doing for Valentine's? Hot date?" The brunette hadn't meant to blurt that out in such an accusatory manner, and suddenly wished he had more food to bury his face under, turning red.

"I hope so," Yu gave him a look that would've made half the girls at their school absolutely fume with envy, and the male across the table from him tried and failed to keep his blush under control. "And you?"

"Yeah, same," Yosuke flustered, fidgeting with his silverware, and the straw in his drink, if only so his fingers would be occupied. Then, like a train wreck, as soon as he'd taken his lips from the straw, more words tumbled out of his mouth, and he couldn't reign them back in. "Y'know, my parents, they got married this weekend, so they're out of town on Sunday, and someone else is coming to manage the store, and I asked for the day off," This was so much harder than it had to be, and Yosuke wished he had the courage to be like his friend, who simply said that he wanted to kiss, when he wanted to, and then followed through with the urge. "So, I mean, if you wanna come over or somethin'—"

"I'd love to," Yu ended his pain blessedly quickly, smiling behind a mouthful of pasta. Yosuke felt something besides the food settle just under his stomach, and he swallowed his spit. Listening to the quiet clink of Yu's silverware against the china of the restaurant, he tried not to linger one part of his companion's figure for too long, but it proved difficult. The brunette kept harmlessly running his mouth, amber eyes taking in those slim, pale fingers, so elegant—_but they'd been twisted in his hair only a few weeks ago_—his strong jaw, which couldn't be mistaken for a woman's in the least, those grayish, silvery locks hanging just above a steely, but not stern gaze. Even though they were discussing a film they had gone to see with Chie a while back, the shorter male of the two felt hot under his collar, and suddenly impatient for the weekend to come faster.

They left dinner with only a brief squeeze of hands, and Yosuke tried to remind himself that it probably hadn't been a date, but his heart hammering in his chest wanted to believe otherwise. Things that had made him feel helplessly bored previously were now his only saving grace from his own thoughts, which were probably more homosexual than he would've admitted. A couple other people asked if he wanted to do anything this weekend, but the brown-haired junior smiled and said that he and Yu were gonna be busy doing bro stuff. Chie narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, instinctively feeling her friend's desire to hide something. The two were still close, and lately, rumor had it that _they_ were an item, which was the furthest thing from the truth; they said so, but their apparent denial made their assumed relationship seem so much stronger. Saturday evening, she called him, and he, in a daze, answered without checking the caller id.

"'lo," Yosuke started, telling his mother in the other room that he was going back to his room before closing the door and flopping down on his mattress.

"Hey," The voice on the other room was the girl with dyed light brown hair, and he wasn't sure if he was aggravated or happy to hear that it was her. "You know, I usually hate to start conversations off being serious, but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do."

"I already told you I'd pay you back for the three thousand yen I owe you when I get paid next week," Groaning, he admonished her. "Man, impatient, aren't we?"

"That's not even what I called for, dork," Chie sounded lighter now, so the young man was happy about that. When things got too serious, it made Yosuke worn out. "I was just gonna ask you what's going on. Haven't really talked to you in a while, or so it feels like."

Yosuke did know the feeling, and was reminded of exactly what a good friend she was, guilt swimming in his head. Honestly, he didn't remember if he had ever thanked her for that time around Saki's death anniversary, and he felt like an asshole for not having done so. "Sorry," He genuinely was, and hoped his voice projected as much. "Things got pretty crazy after that. Besides, thought I wasn't allowed to call and tell you dirty jokes at two a.m. anymore."

"You're still not," She snarked back in reply, and he snickered. "I know you were all gloomy and stuff for a while, but now I can't figure out if something is wrong, or if you're floating on cloud nine."

Honestly, the Hanamura boy didn't know which of those things he was either. His recent challenges to his identity lie in the area of sexuality. The only person he knew would sympathize with his plight was Kanji, but there was no way in hell he was talking to him about this. He hardly wanted to tell Chie about it, but felt that she deserved his trust and openness. At some point, before Yu had become his best friend and something more, Chie had held that position in his heart, and although they didn't see as much of each other these days, he still missed the days when they poked fun at each other, and she punched him heartily in the shoulder after school. Letting out a sigh, he spoke into the receiver once more. "Everything's all messy. But I'm not upset or anything! Stuff got sorta weird after that day. You know the one." The noise she made said that she did. "I may…or may not have had…an encounter of the risky variety with a mutual friend of ours around Christmas."

She gasped and snorted, barely holding back a laugh. "Hanamura, that was the worst description of a good night I've ever heard."

"It was weird! I could've sworn I was thinking about how nice Rise's body was, or how pretty Saki-senpai's hair had been, just before it happened, and then _boom_!" It sounds silly even to him, and he flushes, silently grateful that his friend can't see that through the telephone. "I don't want to make the sort of asshole-ish excuse, like, 'oh, guy's are gross, but Narukami's alright', because that's just not fair. Somewhere deep down I guess I sort of always knew I was fighting it but, er…I dunno. Just the usual insecurities about everything."

He can almost hear Chie rolling her eyes. "It's about damn time. You're always so busy trying to convince everyone else that you're straight that it seems like a ruse. I kind of thought the thing with Saki was a cover story, but…" She trails off, knowing it's a sensitive topic, but Yosuke urges her on regardless. "I could tell that you really loved her. You know, in your dumb, big doe-eyed way you followed her around, and tried to make her laugh at all your stupid jokes."

"My jokes are comedic gold, excuse you," Yosuke defends himself with a whimsical smile, and they share a laugh together for a moment. "But yeah. I really did. These days, I'm starting to think I'm gonna be alright, though."

"Getting laid might be a good start," Chie jests, and her friend stammers back, which only makes her laugh even harder than she'd been laughing before. "Seriously, though? I'm happy for you. When you two are together, I don't know, but it just feels…right? I'll kick anyone's ass that says otherwise, just say the word." There's a pause before she tentatively speaks again, sounding embarrassed to even be saying the words. "But he's not like…your outlet for your lingering feelings about Konishi or anything, is he?"

"_Hell_ no," Yosuke immediately dismisses the notion, knowing that he couldn't have had anyone on the brain during his time together with Yu. "I don't think I ever even thought about Saki-senpai in that way, in all honesty." He really hadn't, and it should've raised a flag in his mind, but their relationship hadn't been anything more than two kids fumbling at a strange semblance of a couple, what with Saki's preoccupation with someone and somewhere else, and Yosuke's apparent lack of ability to think about _anything_ else, at the time. "You'd be surprised—for someone with such a great poker face, Yu's alarmingly _creative_," The brunette's mind supplied, even though it was a word far too tame to describe the other teen's absolute enthusiasm for seeing the two of them messed up.

"Ugh, too much information," She made a noise like she was sticking her tongue out, so Yosuke stuck his out at her too. "Speaking of! What do you think someone should, er, wear to an event…to impress?"

Yosuke knows he hasn't talked to her about serious stuff in a while, but he'd been incredibly thrown off to hear that, and the grin that stretched on his face could've been a mile wide. "What was all that about getting laid being the first step? Who's the lucky guy that has to deal with your temper tantrums and ferocious kicks?"

"S-shut it, Hanamura!" Chie stuttered, and somehow it made him crack up. "I went in for this thing Narukami's uncle recommended I go to, for young adults interested in joining the force. There was this guy, a few years older than me, and we hit it off!"

"Older man? Oooh, scandalous. I hope he likes kung-fu movies and fart jokes as much as you do," Yosuke teased, and his friend hissed across the line.

"That was _one_ time! I knew I shouldn't have asked for your opinion," She pouted, and he apologized. "I should wear a dress, huh?" This started the other brunette to laughing again and she started getting flustered again. "It's not funny!"

"If you get to poke fun at my relationship, I get to poke fun at yours," Yosuke noted, and she quietly grumbled in agreement. "But you know what, wear what you feel comfortable in. If you come overdressed, the poor guy'll probably just be awkward about it." He remembered his first date, awkwardly turning up in what his mother had laid out for him, becoming to brunt of Saki's jokes for the rest of the week. "Hope everything goes well. What's his name?"

"Sanada," Chie sounds love-struck already, and Yosuke holds down his snort. "Ah! I heard that!"

After a while of grumbling and tossing insults and jokes back and forth, Yosuke shuts his eyes and smiles. "I'm happy for you, Chie. I'm really just…happy," He said it before thinking, and meant it.

She laughed and said, "You deserve it, Yosuke. You really do."

He wonders, but believes her words for now, and says goodbye before dozing off. When he rises, it is by the sound of his mother and father coming to wish him a happy Sunday before departing for their overnight trip. His mother kisses his face, and he feels a little silly, but murmurs a soft 'be safe' through his sleepy haze. A couple hours later, he woke naturally, and went to the bathroom to wash his face, shower, and change clothes. Yu sent him a message that he'd probably be by around three or four, so the brunette decided to play a game in the meantime. Without much thought, he texted a couple people from school, with Yukiko apparently watching the inn today, and just as bored as he was, if not more. Ted had called to see if he wanted to go do something, and he declined, just as he had everyone else that had asked beforehand.

Yawning out of boredom more so than drowsiness, Yosuke was pleasantly surprised to hear the doorbell ring, and hurried around the corner to open the door. "Hey," He tried not to sound as flustered as he felt, and failed, fidgeting his feet and letting the gray-haired teen wonder in. "You didn't have to bring lunch," The brunette was grateful, though. He could cook well enough to survive, but his food just wasn't as satisfying as Yu's.

"I wanted to," Yu replied with a winning smile, and Yosuke could've groaned in a sudden happy emotion. "It's not much, but hopefully you'll like it." Inside of the lacquered bento box is a collection of sandwiches, sweet tamagoyaki, some vegetables, and it's still a little warm, like Yu had finished cooking it just before heading over. Yosuke absently wondered if he was going to make a habit of feeding him up before they did anything, but he certainly wasn't going to complain. They ate, and played some game or another before going out of their minds with boredom. Yu says that he wants to get something, and leaves Yosuke's room to go back to the hallway for a moment. He returns holding something in his head that makes the color drain out of the brunette's face, and he is somewhere between shocked and not at all. This was the same guy who had wanted him to wet himself in the middle of his bedroom, after all. (Today, he'd had the foresight of going to the restroom periodically, wanting to make a better impression.) As it unfurls from the silver-haired male's hands, sick dread fills the brunette's mind.

"That isn't what I think it is," Yosuke laughs shakily. He knows the answer is already going to be yes, and a combination of anxiety, dread, and excitement causes his breathing to accelerate. "It totally is, isn't it."

Although he looks crestfallen, Yu is considerate. "We don't have to use it, if you don't want. I just thought it'd be interesting." Somehow, his wording makes it even harder to refuse.

"Behind that quiet little honor student is a real kinky bastard," Yosuke sighs and manages to suppress a shudder as he finishes his train of thought, giving his not-friend-maybe-boyfriend a look. "Well, c'mon and put it on, before I lose my nerve!" The quiet rustling of Yu's clothes as he kneels down next to the brunette, clipping the gag around the back of his head and adjusting the straps, just makes both of their heavy breathing seem so much louder. Apparently satisfied with his work, Yu then starts stripping his shirt from his chest, but Yosuke doesn't, heart racing and saliva pooling at the back of his mouth. This thing made it hard to swallow, and his eyes traced Yu's form, wanting to kiss him, lick him, anything, but he can't, not with the ball forcing his mouth open.

Cool fingers slip under his shirt, and Yosuke feels the throaty moan come from himself, and cannot help a second slipping out when Yu starts pushing his pants down and swirling his free tongue around his nipples.

His tongue goes lower and lower, and embarrassedly, Yosuke feels a dribble of saliva escape the corner of his mouth just before he throws his head back, because Yu is licking his shaft again, but this time his pace is professional, and the warm heat of his mouth makes him buck further into Yu. The hum of Yu's protest buzzes through his crotch, and Yosuke drools through the ball gag, muffled sounds joined with curled fingers and his arching spine. Fingers are pressing between the brunette's thighs, just under his balls in a spot that forces him to make himself remain still, and a few fingers rub up and down between the cleft in Yosuke's derriere, and the brunette comes with an embarrassing quickness. His only warning to Yu is a clenched hand on his shoulder, and the loudest noise he can muster behind his restraint, but the kneeling male understands, and takes his lips from the member just in time for Yosuke to spill over on his face and onto his bare shoulders.

Yosuke moves to wipe his face of some of the saliva he's spilled, and his amber eyes find Yu digging in his jean pockets, just before shimmying out of them. He pulls out a lubricant, and the brunette is panicked and turned on all over again, as well as a condom, but he does not yet break the seal. Long, slender fingers rub between his ass again, feeling for the hole there, and he sends Yosuke a look, refusing to do this without his consent. "Is it okay? Do you want to?"

The brunette waits a moment before nodding, and his breathing is staggered, heart racing, and he knows his skin is growing sweaty and clammy. Yu takes his hand anyways—the one that hasn't been touching his ass, and then goes forth to stumble his way around Yosuke's lower quarters. It hurts, and Yosuke feels like a rod is shoved up there, and he makes a noise, turning towards the bed, urging his not-boyfriend to move there before they went forward. He calmly obeys like the brunette had said so aloud, and once the owner of the room has settled on his mattress, he slicks his fingers with more of the lubricant and tries again. The brunette clenches up, and his partner whispers into his olive skin that he needs to relax, so he lets himself do just that so that Yu can move his finger around.

"I'm putting another in," Yu whispers against his skin, still holding Yosuke's hand while he searches, and Yosuke's fingers are halfway in his hair, and cupped around the taller male's hips, moans and groans escaping from his lips, and the dribble of more saliva bubbling in the back of his throat that he hurried to swallow. The deeper the silver-haired teen delved, the closer he got to that spot, and with two fingers slowly scissoring and stretching him, pulsing in and out, he strikes gold, and Yosuke is even harder than he'd been before he'd come the first time. He hisses out a long _yesss_ but it's behind his biting the ball gag, and lurches to make himself even closer to Yu. _Shit_, he curses under that thing, mouth open and panting, and he knows his spit is getting all over the place, but he can't help it. Yu hits it again and again, and he stops holding the brunette's hand to stroke his lower half again, butterfly kisses turning more feral around his collarbone, deliberately aiming to leave a mark, but he didn't want it to be somewhere obvious.

Although he looks hungry, and his eyes are glazed over with lust, he is careful to gauge the glistening eyes of the brunette while he asks another question. "I want to be in you…can I?"

Yosuke wants to scream that he's halfway past impatient for it, his erection beginning to hurt. He probably does make a garbled noise in his mouth, and nods fervently, gripping Yu's shoulders as a warning that if he didn't do it, they were going to have a problem. So Yu complied, going to get that condom, and slipping it onto himself quickly, but carefully. He hovered around the brunette's entrance for a time before pushing in slowly, and amber eyes that had since been glistening held back hardly restrained tears. It hurt really, really badly for a time, but then Yu and he got a rhythm, those cool hands coming back to the crown of his erection and his chest as he pounded into his ass, hitting that spot repeatedly. Yosuke at the peak of a second erection after Yu comes for the first time, pulling out of him and breathing heavily. "Have to change the condom," He breathes, and Yosuke whines. He is shortly after unclipped, and rubs at his raw mouth, where some of his spit had dried. "Are you alright?"

Still buzzing with excitement—woah, woah, some of his classmate's enthusiasm had to be rubbing off or something, because he should not have been excited about being gagged while his best friend screwed him into the mattress—he hummed. "Just impatient, I guess. Want to try a different position?"

Yu nods in agreement, saying, "If you want," and when Yosuke slyly took the fingers of Yu's hand that he was sure hadn't been shoved up his ass earlier into his mouth, he was pleased to see the beet red reaction and ignored erection stretching back to life against the latex. The brunette lies on his side, taking Yu's hand, and therefore his arm, down with him, and throws his leg over the silver-haired male's shoulder. Flicking a pink tongue between his fingers, he teases.

"My mouth's just feeling a little lonely," Amber eyes tease and seduce, and Yosuke is shaken with lust as Yu wastes no time in diving into him a second time, and he is vocal about how good it feels, and where else he wants to be touched. They kiss sloppily, and for some reason, seeing that trail of saliva from his mouth to Yosuke's makes him groan and become larger inside of his partner, who winces and leaks at the same time. The brunette screams a little when he comes, and pulls Yu's nose into the crook of his neck after they both come this time. They breathe heavily, tiredly, and Yosuke lazily kisses those toned shoulders. After a few more minutes of languid licking and lips and heat with no purpose, Yosuke whispers, biting Yu's ear, "One more time." They screw facing each other this time, hands clasped, and the brunette gives the silver-haired male a taste of his own medicine as he nips at his chest, and urges their pace faster and faster. "Yess_sss_, more, more," He moans, and says, "_Yuuu_," like a prayer, coming all over the other boy's stomach, unable to move, as his partner huffs out his name in return.

This time, when Yu pulls out, throwing the condom into the trashcan, it is full of semen and they are sticky with each other's seed and sweat, and they couldn't care less. Yu manages to start speaking between kisses and the pleasant after glow, saying that he is hungry, and could definitely go for a shower. Yosuke mentions that his ass hurts, in the best way, and he doesn't want to forget this moment, not ever. "Wanna take a bath together?" Yu says, and Yosuke nods.

They clamber in, after the electricity has made the temperature tolerable in the bathtub, and the quiet noises of Yu's fingers—which he'd washed before hand—working knots out of Yosuke's hair was calming. The brunette returned the favor after they bathed, and then they both rinsed themselves beside the tub, feeling refreshed. "You need to get home or anything?" Yosuke asks his friend while they are changing into new pairs of clothes. "School tomorrow, and all."

"I brought my homework," Narukami replied with a little smile. "I remember a certain someone being upset over not being invited to our last study session, so I thought I'd give you some personal attention."

Smirking, Yosuke said, "Well, you've certainly given me plenty of that." He told Yu he'd be back in a few, heading to the convenience store just a block away to get something to eat for the two of them. Upon return, he hurried to get his homework, which he'd been putting off for some time, and gathered with the food and papers to the table. They worked together, discussing things when Yosuke needed help, and otherwise listening to a tracklist the brunette had flicked on, using his synchronized television and mp3 player. After a while, Yosuke grew bored of working, as per usual, but his classmate fixed him with a look, and he sighed, wanting to take just a little break, so he cracked the subject he'd been deliberating over since December. "Hey, Yu," Knowing he had his attention, the young Junes part-timer continued. "Um, are we, like…an item?"

Blinking as though taken by surprise, Yu suddenly laughed and said, "Well, I should certainly like to think so. I didn't want to push you into anything against your will, though, and you seemed awfully adamant about never getting into a serious relationship with another male. Honestly, I was hoping you'd bring it up, so I could tell you so."

Yosuke flushes and stutters and speaks again. "Oh man, I was just…you know I'm dumb, and I guess I was just wondering if…you wanted more than sex, or maybe if I just didn't deserve anything that nice. Just kidding though, y'know?"

Yu wasn't kidding at all, as he looked at him tenderly. "I'd never think that. Honestly, the only reason I'd asked you on that date the other day was to ask if we could be official. And you aren't stupid, Yosuke. Not everyone is cut out for academics, and that's alright. I love you, just like you are." Now he's thrown down the gauntlet with the l word, and Yosuke flushes so deeply red that he feels he will become purple. "You deserve all that and more. I guess what I'm saying is, of course I want to go out with you. I'm not the kind of person who sleeps with someone that they don't like."

"Auugggh, how am I going to explain that I've stolen you from half of Inaba?" Yosuke groaned in jest, and Yu laughed. "Yes! Yes, I want to go out, and keep putting up with your ridiculous, kinky whims. I don't know, um, all that much about love, but," He stopped for a moment, looking right into those gray eyes. "Maybe I can learn. If the sex is anything to go by, so far, it's been fantastic."

"You're off on Wednesday, right?" Yosuke nods to Yu's question. "Then let's make it a study date after school. No touching beneath the waist line, promise."

"Aww, but mom," The brunette teases, just before getting back to this mathematics assignment. "I'm looking forward to it. But hey, what're you gonna do for Valentine's, anyways?"

He sent his best friend turned boyfriend a coy look. "Hadn't decided yet." Yosuke shivered, and tried to focus on all those crazy equations instead of what his eyes were saying in that moment. The brunette had never been more eager to finish his homework, though, and something told him that he'd gotten into the best strange commitment. Resolving to push his thoughts of Valentine's away, for now, he scribbled the answer to the question, and for once, it was correct.


	2. Encouraged Cooperation

A/N: Another chapter of writing kinky sex between Yu and Yosuke, mm yes. This chapter also has some other ships in it, he he he. There are two songs mentioned in here; one is called "Love Story" by Miyuki Ishikawa, and the other is "After Tonight" by Justin Nozuka. There are links to videos of them in my profile. This chapter is still being edited a bit, so sorry if there are any mistakes. Enjoy!

* * *

_**Vice**_

* * *

"_Sex is as important as eating or drinking and we ought to allow the one appetite to be satisfied with as little restraint or false modesty as the other."_

- Marquis de Sade

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Winter passes quickly for the young couple. Although, titles aside, they acted much like they had before, if a bit more handsy, and perhaps more conscious of what the other was doing quite a bit more frequently. And, of course, they were having sex, which made everything entirely different.

The silver-haired youth had told their friends about their relationship just before white day, unwittingly, when he'd let slip that he'd gotten a bunch of chocolates, whether they had been obligatory or romantic, and had given one away to another, and hoped that he might receive a gift in return from his significant other on March 14th. Luckily, the classroom and the object of his affections had cleared out of school for the day, residents of the former in a rush to get home, and the latter required to be at work within the hour. He sighed and explained to Chie and Naoto, who had come by after the bell rang, why he'd said such a thing, and they both nodded knowingly. Yukiko popped back in on the tail end of the conversation, but didn't seem all together too surprised either. "Of course, we are in the countryside, and it's not as though we're ashamed of each other, but if we were more open, everyone in town would be gossiping about us," He warned, and they all nodded in agreement.

Since then, months had passed, and Yu Narukami felt like he was walking on air. Of course, he'd always known himself to be a bit strange in his interests, but Yosuke took it in stride. Mostly, they couldn't find time to be completely by themselves to do more than give each other a hand en route to a climax, but they seemed content to toss a blanket they both could sit under and watch a silly show that Yosuke was interested in, or one of those tear jerkers Yu enjoyed. A lot of the time, they had part-time jobs to attend, and couldn't do anything else but call each other near the dead of the night, talking about their days and nothing important until the quieter of the two started yawning too many times in a row, and the brunette shooed him off of the line, urging him to go to sleep. They studied together quite a bit, and by the time the final trimester of their second year came to a close, the results had paid off. Yosuke had crowed and praised Yu as his savior, for he'd received a B- in literature, and a C+ in math. The next time the Narukami boy visited the Hanamura household, he was treated like a saint, and presented with several miraculous dishes crafted by the other male's mother.

May was fast approaching as the boys shared the latest tidbits of people's lives at school, and they hurried to plan their golden week with their friends before everyone became overtaken with business. Chie and Sanada, her young beau, were getting along famously, despite their previous long distance relationship; the male was moving closer to Inaba than his previous stay in Iwatodai, and she couldn't wait to introduce him to them. Yukiko didn't have much to say in the way of romance, but she didn't seem to mind this. Yu felt unspeakably protective of his young cousin, Nanako, because as she turned seven, her thoughts grew more and more mature, and she'd already been quite the levelheaded young miss. Teddie was a few years older than her, freshly ten, but they were getting beyond the cooties stage and getting to the beginning of their pre-puberty curiosity, and the silver-haired teen didn't like it any more than his uncle did. Still, that didn't mean that he didn't like the blonde, it just meant that he endeavored to keep him and his baby cousin from hanging out more than necessary, or else he'd settle for hovering around them when they did hang out. Rumor had it that Kanji and Naoto had a tentative, rocky relationship, and when asked, the both of them flushed and stuttered, but did not deny the words.

Honestly, Yu was content. Sitting in the quiet living room of the Dojima family, the brunette and he continued to make calls and draft a plan. "Alright, so, it's looking like Rise's gonna be in town from the twenty-eighth," The brunette still had his thumb on the end call button, from where he'd been comparing notes with the girl who was no longer up-and-coming, but nearing the status of a full-fledged idol every day. "And she's not leaving 'til the sixth, so no worries there."

"We've still got school on Monday and Tuesday, though, so let's aim for Wednesday," Yu chimes in dutifully, before scribbling a note on a piece of paper to his right. Yosuke is tapping a beat absently with his ink pen, twirling it swiftly between the fingers of his left hand. "Chie said her boyfriend would be here around the first, so let's maybe meet him on Thursday instead. What could we do with such a large group?"

"I say we go on a day trip to the city, do a little karaoke," Yosuke says, and Yu agrees, eager to see them all belt it out, hoping that Rise forces the brunette to sing one of her songs before the day is over. This time, the silver-haired eighteen-year-old makes a call to the girls, who are delightfully together this evening, making his number of calls reduced. Chie and Yukiko sign off on the plans he and Yosuke had been formulating, so he writes that down, and continues down the list.

"What's Teddie up to over the break?" Yu wagers, and his boyfriend sort of grimaces before biting the top of the pen, a bad habit that he has yet to break.

"His 'rents are leaving the country, if you can believe it. They took some extra time off to go travelling. Apparently, they offered to take him with them, but Ted didn't wanna go, so he's staying at my place, of course." Usually, Yosuke wouldn't have minded, but his sexual frustration was pent up, and knowing that he had to work overtime with the kid hovering at his shoulder the whole time made him exhausted to even think about. But, for that Sunday and most of the week off, it would be blessedly worth it. "That kid sleeps like a heathen, and snores his way through the night. I have to turn my music up when I sleep, and sometimes I even have to play him a lullaby. Kid's still got nightmares, y'know." Yu hadn't gotten all of the details, but Teddie—they called him that instead of Theodore, which sounded ridiculous and too complex for the bouncy kid—apparently, the kid had been victim to a household of abuse, and his real father was an arsonist they had only recently apprehended and put in jail overseas. His adoptive, very Japanese parents were fond of travelling, and nice enough, but were overall just not entirely adept at handling their child's personality. As a result, Teddie was a bit selfish, but also hesitant in all of his relationships, feeling like others disliked him simply for existing, and clinging to anyone that accepted him.

"He's welcome to join us," Yu added with his usual patient smile, and although the brunette grumbled, he was smiling too. "If he promises to be on his best behavior, I might invite Nanako as well."

"Don't worry; I'll beat some sense into that dummy," Yosuke promised, just as Nanako plodded in the door, her father close behind. They both looked up and greeted the two Dojimas. "Speaking of Nanako-chan, look who it is!"

"Yosuke-nii!" The girl flew over, her hair hanging loose and long around her young, pretty face. "I didn't know you were coming over today."

"I always come when you call," Yosuke flirted harmlessly, poking her little button nose with a smile, then giving her a hug and ruffling her hair. She protested and huffed, but smiled all the same, and then pattered over to Yu and hugged the breath out of him, and offering her cheek for the silver-haired young man to blow a raspberry on.

"Welcome back, Nanako," Yu greeted her, and put her hair back in place, grinning from ear to ear as she flushed. "We were just talking about Golden Week. Any chance you wanna hang out with us over the vacation?" Her dark brown eyes sparkled, and she lit up.

Sending her father a pleading look, she smiled brightly when his uncle nodded at them and smiled. "Yes! Where're we going?"

"We're gonna go out for karaoke in the city," Yosuke chimed, elbows resting on the tabletop, and fidgeting with the pen again. "We invited your _boyfriend_, too." The jab was aimed at his own boyfriend and his cousin, the former who shot him a look, and the latter who stammered and swore up and down that they weren't dating—honest! The brunette seemed to think that Yu's overprotectiveness was hilarious. Nanako happily leapt from her cousin's lap after a few more minutes, and then joined them at the table, asking what else they were doing. Dojima chimed that he was going to go grab dinner, that an acquaintance would be joining them, and that Yosuke was welcome to stay. The brunette took him up on the offer, never one to turn down free food. Once the only adult of the household was gone, Nanako's questions became a little more outlandish.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Yu-nii?" The girl asked while Yosuke was arguing with Kanji a few footsteps away. From their discussion, Yu had gleamed that their underclassman, who had finally stopped dying his hair, wasn't understanding what the brunette was saying, and Yosuke was letting Kanji's thickness drive him up a wall.

"Mm, something like that," He answered cryptically, stifling a laugh at Yosuke's exaggerated gestures, which he could see from his peripheral, and turning his full attention back to the little girl growing before his very eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Nanako looked intrigued, and her eyes lit up with a detective's nature, something she'd obviously gleaned from her father. "Who is it? Do I know her?"

"Yup," Yu answered, tickling her. "Wanna guess?"

When she'd stopped laughing, begging him to cease and desist, she resumed her investigation. "Yukiko-nee is always busy with her inn, and Chie-nee has a different boyfriend—she told me so!" The last time the girl with burnt, dark gold locks had come over, she'd been blushing and bragging about the one they would soon be meeting. "Is it Naoto-nii?" Somehow, the gender affiliation stuck with their little group, even though everyone knew she was a woman. Besides that, Shirogane seemed to prefer being referred to in this manner, smiling softly in reaction to the addressing methods.

"Naoto's going out with Kanji," Her cousin, eleven years older than her, tried to speak to her like an adult as frequently as possible, having read somewhere that doing so was better for children, anyhow. "You remember him? He just recently cut his hair, and he used to be blonde."

"Of course I remember," She rolled her eyes like he'd asked her the stupidest question in the world, so he chuckled under his breath. "But there's lots of girls you talk to! Like the lady across the street, and the manager of the basketball club."

Ai was a pushy girl, and she occasionally asked for his help in romantic endeavors, as well as his assistance for long shopping trips. She took his opinions to heart, and forced him to carry the ten, twenty, or even thirty bags and boxes she'd garnered on her adventures. The woman across the street was probably ten years older than he was, always going on and on about her and her mother's spats with cooking. He'd tried to teach her a couple times to no avail, and ended up using most of her failures to lure unsuspecting fish from the banks of the Samegawa river. "I'm sure that woman has someone else she's interested in, and Ai is in love with someone else. Nah, it's someone closer than you think." His gaze drifted to his significant other, who had finally gotten something through their younger friend's thick skull, and was sighing as he hung up and flopped back into the chair.

"What were you two cool kids chatting about while I burned the last of my good brain cells out?" Yosuke started off, smiling at Yu's little cousin. "Nothing too fun, I hope. You wouldn't go breaking my heart like that, would you, Nanako-chan?"

"Never!" She assured him, and the boys shared a snicker. "Just about who Yu-nii likes. I bet you know who it is!"

"Interested in adult stuff already?" Yosuke waggled his eyebrows and she blushed as he went on. "Do I ever. But I've been sworn to secrecy," His hands are flying as he wildly pulls the wool over her eyes. "Rumor has it, he's in a passionate romance with some girl from the city. Real bombshell, and they just make those goofy puppy dog eyes at each other. 'Yu, never leave me! How would I live without you?!' And your big bro here'll go, 'Baby, I'll never leave yoouuuu', just like in the dramas." Yosuke can't stop himself from laughing thunderously at his own joke, and Nanako is enthralled, looking between the two of them. Her cousin is snorting and rolling his eyes, and his friend is cracking up, but she believes his words.

"I can't believe you never told me," She says breathlessly, and Yu groans; Yosuke is only laughing harder. "What's her name? How'd you meet her?"

"Don't believe Yosuke," Her cousin assures her gently, and she nods. "I'll tell you more about them when you're a little older."

"Aww, no fair," She whines shortly, but quickly cheers up. "I'm gonna catch you red-handed one of these days, and then you'll _have_ to tell me." Yu makes a mental note to be more careful than ever with the brunette, as long as his observant cousin is around. Yosuke wipes a tear from his eye and finishes his laughing bout just in time for the girl to turn on the television and absorb a children's quiz show.

"Our little detective is gonna catch us red-handed," Yosuke whispers teasingly, scribbling some more stuff on their planning notes. "Guess we'll be partners in crime, then."

Yu rolls his eyes but cannot help the smile that creeps onto his face, feeling rather evil. "_You_ can be the one to explain to her exactly what we were doing if she catches us, _Yosuke-nii_."

The brunette shudders and crosses his fingers in an x shape. "_Hell_ no. And dude, ew. Never again."

"Would you prefer 'Hana-chan'?" A couple weeks ago, when Yosuke had been feeling nostalgic, he'd mentioned in passing that Saki had called him that, and he puffed his cheeks out after Yu laughed and continued to tease him for it.

Blushing and slamming his head into the table, making Nanako glance towards them for a second before finding nothing the matter and going back to her television program, he groaned. "I regret ever thinking that telling you would be a good idea." Yu was the one to call Naoto up on the tail end of his laughter, and his conversation went much more smoothly than Yosuke's had with Kanji. With that, their plans were sealed, save one thing. But they couldn't exactly discuss things with the seven-year-old girl sitting right there. Yu was broken from his thoughts by Nanako's singing, her love for Junes ebbing slowly, but going strong nonetheless. Yosuke looks up with pride at that, and starts speaking to her again. "Hey, Nanako-chan—I brought my guitar. I betcha I can play the theme song better than that silly old TV could!"

"Would you really?" She practically beams at the idea, and Yosuke hurries up the steps to Yu's room for his acoustic, and strums the few, quick lines of the song for her, murmuring the lyrics in a voice that sounds deeper than his speaking voice.

She requests that he sings another song from an anime she likes, which of course he knows and complies, jazzing the theme up a bit, and Nanako claps her small little hands, entertained. Dojima comes back with his pal when they're revving up another song, and holds a hand up saying that Yosuke oughtn't pay them any mind. "Do you know any love songs? My mom used to play the piano, and she liked those a lot."

"Mm, only a few," Yosuke answers, grinning. "You wanna hear one of those? I dunno if my voice is cut out for 'em, and I probably won't be as good as your mom."

"A thousand times yes!" Nanako says, and Yu nods in agreement. It's a soft rendition the silver-haired teen feels that he's probably heard before, and the four people in the home eventually settle around to listen in. Yosuke's fingers strum his guitar slowly, and he rumbles into the song with such emotional tones that heartstrings are plucked from the get go.

Into the first ringing of the chorus, Yosuke gets just a bit louder, and his boyfriend feels like he might cry a little. "_Though struggles are depicted in this love story, and tomorrow is spelled out invisibly, I won't hesitate to be with you. I won't be lonely anymore._" He remembers the last time he'd gotten into it with Yosuke, tensions high after a long day, and they were screaming at each other for things neither of them could fix. Another time, when the brunette had been feeling particularly self-depreciative, and the silver-haired boy had been forced to slap him out of it, and they cried together. Even just last week, they had fumed over something incredibly stupid, kissed, made up, and laughed about it days later, their relationship going stronger than ever since they'd started this whole official mess. Yu longed to sweep Yosuke up the stairs and have him to himself, but settled instead for loving him from afar, hoping against all hope that Nanako and his uncle do not read too much into his staring. He finishes the song on a quiet note a few minutes later, and the four of them clap for his performance, causing him to smile sheepishly before putting his guitar away.

"I didn't know you played, Yosuke-kun," A familiar face is found on the man who has come to join them for dinner. He is probably less than ten years older than them, and is known to be something of a psychopath, but underneath his psychotic ramblings lies a broken little boy, and Dojima, for the past couple of years, anyways, has taken it upon himself to help the dark-haired man integrate himself back into society. The cop had found Adachi on the evening things could have gone horrendously wrong, and let him cry his problems out. The crazy young man had, at the time, pulled out a switchblade and threatened the detective, sobbing and hurting, so Dojima talked him down, and managed to get him to a psychiatrist shortly afterwards, and signed up for a kendo class, to relieve some of his anxieties and pressures. He still wasn't quite normal, but the older man's influence was beginning to show through, and some of Tohru's smiles were less twisted and bitter, and friendlier.

In those past few years, he had come in contact with Yu, Yosuke, and some of their other friends at odd intervals, giving his pessimistic and cynical view on the world, and describing things in a way that was nauseating. Honestly, the boys felt that he was a pitiful person, but they couldn't hate the guy, even when he pissed them off.

He was well behaved around Nanako, however. It seemed that she was the one person in the world that he did not want to taint. When he'd heard that she'd been in the hospital a few months ago, if only for a day, because she'd gotten a strange bout of pneumonia, he'd lashed out at his guidance councilor, and demanded that he be taken to see her later on. "Any other talents that we should know about?"

"I'm fantastic at cleaning the Junes restrooms," Yosuke replied, sitting down on a cushion that his classmate set for him around the low table. Adachi laughed and stood to help Dojima bring the sushi platter and some extra side dishes to the sitting area before sitting next to the man and his daughter.

"Adachi-san," Nanako was pleasant enough with him, and thought he said lots of big words, but she could sense that something was wrong with him, too. She didn't let that stop her, though. "You haven't come over since my birthday." Her birthday was in October, so as April was coming to a close, it had been quite some time since the two of them had seen each other.

"I know, I know," Fishing in the pockets of his baggy pants, he handed her a smallish box, which had a keychain with the character she liked on it inside. "This is for Christmas." Her eyes lit up, and she deemed that she would put it on her keys later. "Well, I'm famished. Let's eat."

Nanako asked what famished meant, and he replied that it meant he was hungry, and the five of them ate with varied chatter. Dojima talked about work, and asked what Adachi was doing these days, and the younger man said that he'd been looking into becoming a cop himself, to stop kids like himself from doing bad stuff. They then went on to ask about school, and the boys answered that their senior year was off to a good start. Nanako said that she'd been thrilled to start her second year of primary school, and the males all cheered for her. They turned on the news after dinner was over, and gathered around quietly, eating oranges and apples that Yu had peeled.

Adachi started to yawn around ten, so he waved all of them goodbye before sliding into a car with Dojima and heading off. "Dad says bad people are sometimes lonely and depressed, so he brings Adachi-san over to cheer him up," Nanako says once he is gone. "I dunno about all that, but Adachi-san sometimes looks a little bit sad and alone anyways, even when he's here with all of us."

Yu bites his tongue to keep from saying anything nasty about the man, and settles for saying, "It takes time for people who are truly depressed to get better." Nanako shrugs and accepts his words, and he hears the brunette on the couch breathing slowly, so he rolls his eyes. "Well, I'm headed upstairs. You should go soon too."

"G'night," Nanako pads off, and Yu first pokes the brunette in the shoulder a few times, and then settles for throwing his arm over his shoulder and helping him stumble up the steps and into the spare futon in his room. He gives Yosuke a kiss on the forehead, despite knowing whether he is aware or not, climbs into his own futon, and falls asleep quickly.

x

That Friday is a holiday, but that doesn't mean the supermarket Junes is closed. Yu had grown eager to see his significant other around lunchtime, and this time he does not come with food, but the brunette is happy to see him all the same. Leaning on the broom, he beams at his classmate and cracks a joke. "Hey there, handsome. You taken?"

"Mm, dunno. Depends on what you have to offer," Yu flirts back and they both laugh for a while. He says in a low voice, "I might let you see what I've got on, if you make me a good offer."

The sultry tone and glint in Yu's voice goes right to Yosuke's groin, and he whines. "Man, you win. Why're you trying to get me all bothered in the middle of the store?"

"I really did come with a surprise," The silver-haired teen says, waggling his eyebrows. "Interested in taking a lunch break?"

Yosuke stands straight up and salutes him, dashing off. "Meet you by the bathrooms in five." That's new, but Yu certainly isn't complaining. It's a little crowded around Junes, what with people looking for something to do, but not as crazy as it had been last year around Golden Week. Hurrying to the restrooms, where there are three doors, all of them with unisex symbols, Yu spots the one with an "OUT OF SERVICE" sign posted and goes inside. It looks like it was written by hand, and he briefly wonders if the brunette's father had done it, because the script looks too steady to be his beau's.

As Yosuke has promised, he returns within five minutes, looking a little out of breath, and he pushes the door open to reveal a sight that makes him slam the door behind him and lock it forcefully. "Guess you weren't kidding about the surprise."

"You don't like it?" Yu is wearing a lacy black piece of underwear, and the bulge of his penis sits there, taunting the brunette. Connected to it is a pair of thigh highs, and straps, so Yosuke comes to the conclusion that it is a garter.

Swallowing a collection of spit hot in his mouth, the brunette assures him that he does not dislike it. "Jesus, you've got nice legs."

"I'm hoping you'll do more than just appreciate them from afar," The other male taunts, and Yosuke stops wasting time, and pushes Yu's shirt up, lips gravitated to that lace. He starts licking against it, and sucks his member without taking the lace off of him. It strains as he becomes erect, and tan, callous fingers probe his boyfriend's mouth and lace-covered ass. He turns flush, and the fabric feels _so_ much better than he could've imagined. Absently he thinks Yu is just trying to return a couple favors, because this was more akin to the brunette's fetishes than his own.

"God, I just want to fuck you up against the wall," Yosuke groaned without thinking, something he'd been speculating since he'd had sex with him a couple months ago. "Can I?"

"Please do," Yu encouraged, maneuvering himself back against the cool tiles, his face red. "Do try to be gentle. Got any lube or something?"

"Yeah, just a sec," He answers in a mumble, still licking Yu's shaft through those delightful underpants. Yosuke didn't want to take them off, so he fumbled through his pants for the container, and put a few globs of the stuff on his hand and then snuck it down the back of the lacy unmentionables, feeling for the puckered spot between his boyfriend's ass. "You gotta be real relaxed, though, or it's gonna hurt like a bitch."

"I can take it," His partner murmurs, hands at Yosuke's backside and in his hair. The fingers come, and he gapes for air, clenching up uncomfortably as the brunette expects, but he coos and uses his other hand to cradle his clothed erection. Despite the sloppiness of their rushed actions, the brown-haired, shorter of the two finds his pleasure spot within a minute or two, and Yu makes noises that shoot right to his crotch. He doesn't need any help standing at attention. "Got a condom?"

Yosuke had pushed his pants down after getting out the lube, so he has to awkwardly shuffle and squat to get the condom out. Yu uses his teeth to open it, and helps him put it over his dick before swinging those legs around him and hurrying him to put it in. The brunette groans under his weight and all the heat, and pushes those undies down quickly, sweating under the burden. But he feels like he's done a good job in stretching him, and slides in from tip to base, and hums in satisfaction at the tight heat that grips him. Giving Yu a second to adjust and cling to him, he softly says, "I'm moving now," and starts setting a pace that slips from slow to fast incredibly, and Yu is panting and biting his neck so as not to scream. "Does it hurt?"

"Feels good," He says this in a sweaty, flushed, and stifled manner, because he's still sucking the skin around Yosuke's neck and collar. "Go deeper." He doesn't need any more telling, and the brunette delves further and further into him, holding both of them up, feeling every contraction and pleasured shiver travel between their connected bodies. Yu tosses his head back as Yosuke's fingers touch his shaft, coaxing the first dribblings of semen out of him. The next thrust pushes the silver-haired youth into the wall again, and he spurts harder with it.

"Shit, you're so sexy," Yosuke admits before moving to his nipples, stopping his stroking in favor of tracing the arched movements of his ribs.

"Mmm, less flattering and more finishing," Yu says, feeling the nobs of Yosuke's spine, and his ankles are shaking from the effort of keeping himself up like this. The brunette complies, moving even more quickly and deeper than before, and they both moan and grip and release. It is another minute or so before the shorter of the two stops coming and pulls out, and then helps Yu get himself down, feeling like the taller won't be able to support himself, dick limp now, and cum slowly dripping on the other wall of the small restroom. "We should probably clean that up," He says matter-of-factly, and Yosuke stops himself from bursting out loudly as he pulls his boxers and jeans back on.

"Yeah, I'll get it," He reaches for the rag in his back pocket. "You know, somehow, when I said I was good at cleaning the bathrooms here up, this wasn't exactly what I meant."

Yu's nice lacy black undies and socks are a mess, but they aren't ripped, and he slips them off before wiping himself down and putting a fresh pair of briefs and the pants he'd arrived in back on. He snickered for a moment, watching Yosuke's fluid motions, standing behind him, fingers tickling the brunette's jaw while he washes his hands. They kissed briefly, and then deeply, before pulling apart. "As much as I'd love to go again, you just got the place cleaned up, and it's two o'clock."

It had been just over twenty minutes, and Yosuke cursed. "I'll see you later—loved the surprise!" He slipped out of the restroom, and plucked his apron from off of the rack he'd left it on. Running into his father on his way to the front counter, where he would clock back in, the man raised an eyebrow, and told him to fix his belt, but said nothing more.

The rest of the weekend was rather boring by comparison, but Yosuke _was_ excited about seeing all of his friends a few days later.

His boyfriend grinned at him like a fiend when they met at the station, waiting for everyone else to arrive, with little Nanako pacing around the maps and pointing out places she had been before. The others arrived close to on time, and Chie said that they would meet her boyfriend the next day. Yukiko let slip that she might be seeing someone that her parents wanted to set her up with, and they teased about that for some time. The kids started playing word games, and watched the surroundings on the train with keen vision. Kanji slipped and tripped over his explanations about him and Naoto, while Naoto sat there in a revealing outfit, for once, and smiled dangerously. Rise chatted a thousand miles a minute, saying that there were plenty of men, teenagers and adults alike, that were interested in her money, but there was only one person she felt genuinely liked her, and it was her manager's nephew. His name was Masao, or Masahiro or something similar, and everyone was growing up and getting together.

They shared a boisterous afternoon together, and on the return train back, Teddie and Nanako fell asleep holding hands, and Yu battled between feeling constrained and happy for them. Spotting his conflict, Yosuke elbowed him and teased. "Aww, nervous, big bro?"

"Yosuke, I swear I'll punch you," This was coming from the same guy he'd screwed into next Tuesday less than a week ago, and the brunette took the threat to heart, shutting up, but refusing to stop giggling and smirking anyways.

The next couple of days passed in a flurry, with the white-haired young man stopping by, starting at the inn, because if Yukiko didn't like the guy, her best friend wasn't sure he'd be staying around for very long. Akihiko was a little shy, and blushed around both the Satonakas and the Amagis, but he was a determined twenty-one year old, starting in the force soon. He and the spitfire of a girl left after staying around for tea and snacks, then headed to the Dojima's for lunch with Teddie, Yu, Nanako, and Yosuke.

Yu and Akihiko got along pleasantly enough, bonding over a love of old soap operas and a friend they hadn't known they'd had in common. The silver-haired young man told the rest of his company about a dark-haired youth he'd been neighbors with for several years in a row, when he'd lived closer to Iwatodai than Tokyo, and they'd been in that place until he was in his first year of middle school. He and Minato had kept in contact via phone and message, and the sleepy older boy he remembered had become popular, still finding ways for everyone else to make or buy him food. Akihiko told him about how the other boy had fit right in there in Iwatodai, spacy as he was. Currently, he was dating the young heir of the Kirijo group. The young woman dismissed the tradition of arranged marriages, and stood tall as the up-and-coming businesswoman with her boyfriend, who was a rising model. Nanako mentioned that she'd heard his name in a television commercial before, and Yu nodded in agreement.

After swapping a couple more facts about their friend, they go back to chatting with everyone about various things. Akihiko is interested to hear about Yosuke's playing guitar, and glad to have someone around who understands sports, even if he's not half as enthusiastic as he or Chie are about them. He thinks Nanako is absolutely precious, even if he's horrendous with children, and she is patient enough for him to manage. Teddie is almost too much vibrancy, but the brunette shushes him and fights him to a tolerable volume and energy level. The five of them feel like family already, even though this is the first time he's met them. Lunch ends with Chie helping Yu and Yosuke with the dishes and putting the food away, and Akihiko is shooed away from the kitchen, as he is a guest. Teddie and Nanako keep him busy enough, playing with his hair and asking if they can paint his face, but he declines in a strong but not cruel manner. In the kitchen, a very different conversation is going on.

"So," Chie starts, blushing. "What d'you think?" The question is directed at Yu more so than at Yosuke, but they both answer.

"He's great," The silver-haired teen replies with a grin, scrubbing a dish with an orange brush. "And as long as you're happy, I have no problem with the guy. If he hurts you, though," He looks dangerous, even though his expression hasn't changed much. "Let me know."

"I can take care of myself, but if you say so, Dad," She teases, and then her other friend teases behind her with a big grin.

"Well, I, for one, think he's the patron saint of sports maniacs or something. But I guess to put up with you, he's gotta be, right?" His words get him kicked behind the knees, and he yelps, rubbing the affected area. "Jesus, I was kidding! I think the guy's fantastic, Satonaka. And I agree with Yu about the whole thing."

She huffs and puts the cup she'd been drying back in its proper cabinet. "You deserved it," Although his partner should be backing him up, he closed his eyes and smiles a bit, silently agreeing with her. "'Sides, how've you two been? Still going strong?" They both think about the day in the washroom of Junes, share a look, and turn to her with grins.

"We're doing just fine," Yu says, and Yosuke flashes a peace sign. They leave after the chore is done, and Chie snorts, pulling ties and something that felt like construction paper from her boyfriend's hair. They finish off, stopping by the Tatsumi's textile shop, where Naoto analyzes them and comes to a positive conclusion, and Kanji threatens him—fights him to prove his worthiness, actually—and deems him A-Okay in his book.

As Akihiko is getting ready to head home, he leans down to press noses with Chie, and comments, "You have some good friends," To which she smiles in agreement and tilts her chin up to link their mouths in a kiss.

x

Summer comes to Inaba again, just as it does every year, and it is hotter than ever. The air is cool by the riverbank as the wind passes across the water, but everywhere else is thick and muddy and humid, and the worst part of the season hasn't even arrived yet. It is a blessedly rainy Saturday when Yosuke decides that he wants Yu to come over and introduce himself to his parents as his boyfriend properly, even though they had met around a year ago normally. The silver-haired teen agrees, and promises to tell Dojima about the two of them the night before.

Friday evening comes, and although Yu is typically a quiet, but not shy, person, he feels like he's clammed up and nervous getting ready to speak. As it turns out, he brings the subject up smoothly after dinner, while having a cup of coffee with his uncle and cousin, asking her if she feels old enough to keep an important secret. She nods fervently, and Narukami says, "I've been seeing Yosuke. Romantically," And both of them pause for a moment, so he starts fidgeting with his chopsticks, even though they've been done eating for some time. "For a while, actually."

Dojima whirls and holds up a hand. "Yosuke. As in Hanamura, the very male son of one proprietor of the chain Junes?"

"Yeah," Yu sheepishly turns his gaze down, looking at his little cousin, who is positively brimming with questions. "So, you see, I don't have a _girl_friend, per se."

Sighing exhaustedly, his uncle says, "Have you told your parents yet?" Yu shakes his head negatively, and he sighs again. "Well, I'm not gonna force you or anything, but that's a piece of news I imagine they'll want to hear."

"I thought boys could only date girls," Nanako says, starting to probe despite the serious air between them. "And get married and stuff."

"Well, two boys certainly can't get married in Japan," Yu answers intelligently, smiling at her in relief, glad to have gotten this off of his chest. "But there's no rule saying that boys can't like boys. Sometimes you like someone just because, regardless of whether they're a boy or a girl. Besides, there are some countries that do allow marriage between two boys." Yu can't help smiling as he explains, as he'd done his research, and even wondered briefly what it might be like to create a home with Yosuke that he'd remain in for the rest of his life.

"But then, how do you make babies? I thought only girls could hold the baby!" Dojima and Yu both sputtered at that, but her father was the one to cough and answer the question this time.

"Two boys can't make babies. But that's beside the point. We're not so backwater here that it's a foreign concept, but you know that if anyone found out, it's likely that you'd be under heavy scrutiny." Sighing deeply, Ryotaro fingers for a cigarette, but decides against it. "Me personally? There's crazier stuff I hear at work every day, and know there's guys of all shades, so I couldn't care less."

"I don't mind," Yu says quietly. "But I don't want Yosuke to get in trouble. We're going to speak to his parents tomorrow."

Dojima eyes his nephew and takes a swig of his coffee, which he suddenly wishes was a cold beer. "Be careful, y'hear?"

"I will be," His nephew replied, and they dissolved that part of the discussion, just in time for Nanako to keep asking dozens of questions. She promised not to tell anyone at school about this, and squeaked happily to hear Yu start telling embarrassing stories about his boyfriend. She is put to sleep before long, however, because her class had been on a day trip to a museum nearby earlier, so Dojima and the teen split ways. The former is tired after a fruitless chase at work, and the latter wants to be bright eyed and bushy-tailed for the meeting tomorrow. He'd cooked dessert to bring to them earlier in the day, so he went to lie down and slept restlessly.

As for his partner's Friday, there wasn't much significant in it, save that Yosuke found his mother sobbing her heart out over some drama or another, and after she sighs and the program goes off, her son asks her a question.

"Hey Ma," Yosuke starts, and Fumiko Hanamura looks up through bleary, reddened eyes. "You ever think it's like on TV? Where those guys stay together, even after the story's done?" He'd glimpsed the two males, kissing softly on the screen, and staring into each other's eyes as the program went off, and gauged her reaction for what tomorrow's meeting would be like.

"I'd like to hope so," She sniffles again, smiling at him. "'Love is justice', right?"

"I guess," His answer is noncommittal, although he is feeling a lot better to have heard her say that. After heading back to his room, he thinks of how things will go and almost makes himself sick, so he tries playing guitar and listening to music instead.

Yu arrives punctually the following evening, with enough dessert for a family of ten, a cake he'd made himself. Fumiko and Haruki Hanamura are pleased to see him, fond of the star student and polite boy that had somehow gotten so close with their own wily offspring. After they have a pleasant dinner, with Yu chiming in that he appreciates the spices Yosuke's mother has used, he waits for a lull in their conversation, dips his head low, puts his hands in front of his forehead, and speaks with formal language. "I apologize for taking so long to tell you, but I'd like to ask for you to give your son to me."

They blink and cough, sputtering, and Yosuke's mother breaks the nervous tension between the boys by laughing. "If you want this silly boy, you're welcome to him! Heaven knows _why_. Either way, I'd had a sneaking suspicion about you two for a while," The petite mother winks at them as Yu raises his head, and then his eyebrows. Next to him, the brunette is pouting, but his eyes are smiling.

"I'm not the kind of father to disown their child for personal decisions," Haruki says, sighing a bit. "I can't say I disapprove of his choice, at the least." Yosuke does gape at this, as he'd feared his father's wrath for the greater part of the week, groaning to even think about this exchange. "All I can give you is a warning, however; if you do anything to bring shame to our store, we'll be having more than a heartfelt chat, son."

"Yes sir," Yosuke breathes out his compliance. He's basically telling the brunette not to screw it up, in his own way. "Now, can we eat this cake or what? It looks delicious."

"Agreed!" His mother chirrups, and stands to get a knife for cutting cake, some more plates, and silverware. The evening slips away, with Yu comfortably wedged into their family, and when they hurry back to Yosuke's room, his parents warn him not to do anything while they are home, and he flushes up to his roots.

In the dead of night, Yu speaks to him sleepily, saying, "Uncle's gone tomorrow. I feel like I can finally relax now that we've gotten that over with."

"Still haven't told your parents, though," The brunette reminds him, and he sighs, telling Yosuke that he still hadn't been able to contact them. They'd been playing phone tag with each other, hours odd because they were currently in Western Europe somewhere. He motions for Yu to sit between his legs, and continues speaking. "Wanna try now?"

"Yeah," He really doesn't, but he wants to sleep next to Yosuke tonight, and maybe something more tomorrow, without lingering thoughts about what his mother and father might think. He dials and gets his mother, bubbly and cheery as always, even though it is nearing two in the morning in Japan.

"Hey, baby—what're you doing up?" Ms. Narukami starts, and it is a good question. "You still need something from me and your dad?"

"I'm seeing someone," Yu starts without hesitation, wanting to get this over with, but not wanting to sound too rude. "A guy. I didn't want to keep it a secret from the two of you."

"Well, I can't say your dad's gonna be thanking the gods or anything, but we've seen our fair share on our travels. He'll get over it eventually. I think that's great." She says. "Sorry we couldn't chat for long, but I promised someone I'd meet them in about ten minutes. I'll talk to your dad about stuff, alright? Don't stay up too much longer!" The boys laugh as she hangs up, feeling their anxiety drain and exhaustion wash in instead.

"See? We did all that worrying for nothing," Yosuke says, but then continues pessimistically. "But we're still hiding. From the rest of the country, I guess." The silver-haired teen shakes his head and speaks truthfully, proud.

"I don't care. As long as you're willing to make it work with me, I'd fight the rest of the nation tooth and nail," Yu says, and Yosuke blushes, just before they kiss a little bit, and the taller male leans his head on the shorter one's shoulder.

They drift off just after this, and when Sunday comes, they see the remaining Hanamuras off pleasantly. Giddy with excitement, and anxious to do more than just kiss and touch, they stumbled through the front door of the Dojima household, and just to make sure, Yu called out a warning before locking all the doors, clinging to the brunette's fingertips as they hurry up the stairs.

Apparently, Yu has no surprises prepared that afternoon, and as he starts licking, biting, and stroking, Yosuke is getting it up, but he doesn't feel as strangely aroused as before. The scent of his silver-haired partner fills his nose, like usual, and his fingers are locked around his waist and in his hair, but he's not breathing as fast as before. Fingers probe his ass and he makes a happy noise at the back of his throat, but it's just not…right. Yu blinks up at him, kissing the sensitive skin of his thighs, stopped by his lack of vocal reaction today. "What's the matter? Did you not want to?"

"No! I definitely want to," Yosuke says, shaking his head. "I dunno…I'm not as thrilled as I thought I would be."

Yu stops for a moment, thinking, and then suddenly grins like a wild animal. "Perhaps our previous escapades are making normal sex a little bit too vanilla for you?" Yosuke feels like crawling under a hole, as he grows more embarrassed, but can't do anything to deny the truth of the matter. "Maybe I can give you a little…stimulation," Yu purrs, and that certainly makes little Yosuke down there twitch. Instead of going to his entrance, slim, pale fingers give his ass a smack, and the brunette yelps. "After all, you are such a _naughty_ boy, aren't you?"

Those same hands, which left a stinging red mark, were moving him so that he was lying on the ground, but his ass was well off of it, legs in the grip of his partner's palms. "_Sh-it_," The word comes out broken as Yu begins fingering him, throwing dirty talk between his movements.

He stops holding the brunette's right leg long enough to slap him again, and his voice is low as he keeps speaking. "You just want me to a such a huge mess of you that you can't see straight, touching your cock, making you beg for it, forcing you to not to go to the restroom." Fingers, only fingers touching that spot, even though he's squirming and squinting his eyes, and gasping for more. "You want me inside of you so that you can clamp your tight little ass around me, and scream my name."

"Fuck _yes_," Yosuke breathes out, over and over and over again. "I want you inside _right now_ but you're clearly not listening because—_fuck_—" He trails off as Yu suddenly grabs his penis and pulls it with just the right amount of pressure, and slaps his ass again with the other hand. His legs burn with the effort of keeping them against his standing partner's chest. "Yu, _Yu_, so help me—"

"Say please," Yu teases with that same look in his eyes, taking in the visage of the sweltering Yosuke, slapping him maybe one more time before pulling his fingers out of his ass and holding his legs up again.

"Dear Yu Narukami, god's gift to man and the biggest damn tease I know, would you _please_ hurry up and fuck me before I pass out?" Yosuke doesn't know when he'd gotten the condom on, but he feels it as he slides in, and tosses his head back against nothing but the floor. Yu does just that, watching as the brown-haired teen clutches at the grooves of the tatami mats, face flush with the pressure this position was putting on him, but he seemed to be enjoying himself a lot more than he had been before. He goes in hard and fast, but not too deep—this is the way Yosuke likes it, teasing the climax out of him instead of pushing that pleasure point over and over again. His noises and words mush together, and he gets louder and louder, spilling over on his own chest, and even getting a little bit of his seed in his hair. Yu puts his legs down carefully before lying beside him, both of them stark naked. After they take a while to catch their breaths, Yosuke murmurs tiredly, "I blame you for making me all messed up."

"You're the one that said you liked my so-called kinky whims," Yu says, and he cannot refute this fact. Tangling their tongues outside of their mouths for a moment, he reaches up and pulls Yosuke's head to him so he can kiss him harder. Catching air for a moment after that, he continues again. "Did I hurt you?"

"Nah," His boyfriend replies, licking the tip of Yu's nose before settling in his chest, petting him. "Wanna try?"

"Sure," Yu answers, and for the next seven to ten minutes is subjected to the same treatment he'd just given, and comes in Yosuke's hand just before letting his thighs relax and flopping back down on the floor again. They laugh breathlessly and ache together before Yosuke cleans himself up and heads back home, the two knowing that Ryotaro and Nanako Dojima will be back home today before long. Yu gets dressed more lazily, and sends Yosuke a text that he knows he will not see until he is back home.

_I've been meaning to tell you_, the message reads and he smiles, thinking fondly of him. _There's a patch of freckles in the middle of your back, and there are a couple on your ass._

As he expects, he doesn't get a reply for a while, and it comes while he's tidying house and finishing some homework._ U didn't tell me! D: Do they look dumb?_

Smiling at his self-consciousness, Yu shoots a message back, hoping it will relieve his concerns. _They turn me on._

Yosuke reads that from his own room, groans, and wills thoughts of their day out his head in favor of trying not to fail his classes. _i hate u. :/ ur better than math tho._

Yu laughs, and is assured about that fact. _I should hope so._ It's another half hour or so before another message comes, and he knows the brunette has probably gotten enthralled with some game, or song, or something, so it's of no concern, but he really can't help but grin when he feels his phone buzz.

_Jk, u kno. I love u._

_I know. I love you too, Yosuke._

x

A couple of weeks pass, and with the dry season, more humidity gathers in Inaba. Yu is inside, thankfully, and while he's sending messages to a couple of his friends, a message beeps from his emails, someone he hadn't been chatting with, so he flips it open and reads it carefully, smiling. It's from Minato.

_Yu-kun,_

_My apologies for taking so long to respond to you, but things at work and at home have been hectic. Sanada told me about your friend—the one who plays guitar? If you could fill out some forms for him, I'll see what I can do for the pursuit of his interests._

_In other news, my cat seems to have grown rather bored without my attention, and is currently trying to ruin my gift to Mitsuru-san, so I'll be going now. Take care,_

_-Arisato._

Yu chuckled sympathetically while reading his words about work, figuring the word 'hectic' was an understatement. After all, he had just been asked if he'd like to act as well as model in a radio interview a few days ago, and agreed. Shortly following, media had been hounding him, and casting agencies blowing his phone up, much to his girlfriend the business tycoon's annoyance. It wasn't that she wasn't used to it, it was more so that her father had recently announced her ascendance to Vice-President status in the company, and because they were both prominent figures, they couldn't seem to get a moment's rest.

He thinks that perhaps the older male has gotten the young businesswoman something to soothe her nerves, but more urgently, he thumbs over the link before deciding it would be better to go to a computer to fill the forms out. The PC whirrs and buzzes to life for a few minutes, and he stares at his empty inbox for a moment longer until the login screen comes up.

The website is simple enough to navigate, and he finds the forms, whizzing through them easily. _Birthday, June 22__nd__._ He remembers that because he'd gone over to celebrate with the Hanamuras for the occasion just a little while after they had outed themselves to the older couple. Chie and Yukiko had also stopped by for a bit, bringing him food and a gift card to the bike repair shop. _Age, 18._ The next inquiry is his weight, and he recalls this fact because he'd been griping about how he couldn't seem to lose his stick figure, and growing taller was only making it worse. _58 kilograms, 175 centimeters. _He goes through some more questions and fills out the longer ones in a professional, but fun tone, hoping that it echoes the brunette's. It asks for a picture, and he digs out a fond memory of Yosuke strumming away on his back porch, cropping out the surroundings and placing it there for whoever would be glancing over this application. Near the end of the four pages of questions and work experience, there is a question that is placed there simply for the effort of getting to know the teenager, and Yu grins.

_If you had to name one thing people remember about you, what would it be?_

Narukami can name a million things that make him think of Yosuke, but the first thing that comes to mind is what he types.

_I'm very flexible, and ambidextrous, _Yu types, snickering to himself, before putting a note to contact Minato Arisato for a recommendation, and sending the thing off. Staring at the clock, he realizes that he's taken almost an hour to fill this out, and stretches, stifling a yawn before his phone buzzes.

"Sorry dude," Yosuke yawns over the other line, and Yu feels a bit like he'd thought him up. "Fell 'sleep. What'd you want earlier?"

"Just wondering if you wanted to go a date later this week," Yu shuts his computer down before moving to the sofa in his bedroom. "And no, that is not my roundabout way of asking to sleep with you. An actual, restaurant-and-a-movie date."

"Ooh look, you closet romantic, you," The brunette teases, yawning again. "Sure. When'd you wanna go?"

Thinking about the message, and the claim that he'd hear back from then within four or five days, he answers. "You still off on Wednesdays?"

"At least for the rest of this month. You got Wednesday off from the day care?" Yu has been working there in the daytime on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and occasionally working nights at the hospital on Tuesday and Thursdays.

"Yeah," He replies, happy to be making these plans. It's still only Saturday, but he is unspeakably excited. "Let's meet at your place an hour after school, so I have time to change, and then we can go to the station together."

"We'll have to walk, though—we got in trouble the last time, when that cop caught us." It was illegal for two people to ride together, but in the countryside, most people turned a blind eye. However, the closer they got to the city, the more frequently they were warned for riding together. "Something must've happened recently. They're not that uptight about it most of the time."

"That's alright," Yu agrees with him, not wanting to waste their evening out taking time to deal with another prefecture's strictness in law enforcement. "See you then."

"Later," Yosuke seems to finally be waking up, because he hears the rustle of covers just before the brunette hangs up. Deciding to get up himself, the tall young man makes his way to the kitchen to make dinner for the family, and lunch for himself and Nanako.

The two of them are pretty busy from Monday morning to Wednesday afternoon, mostly because term finals are swiftly approaching, and they still have work besides. Study sessions are shoved between it all, and Yosuke tries to keep himself from drooling in history, Chie looking just as wiped out as he is. Wednesday evening comes, and as Yosuke stands in his tan shorts, a white t-shirt that has a print of a dolphin in orange on it, and comfortable sandals, Yu notices that he looks different. "Did you get a haircut?"

"Yeah. I stopped by on my way home," The brunette says, flashing a thousand-watt smile. "Like it?"

"It suits you," He says honestly, dressed just as comfortably. Yu sports a pair of black capris, a gray graphic t-shirt, and his favorite slip-ons. On both of their arms are varied bands and watches. Yu's is on his left, and Yosuke's is on his right, somber black and glaring orange respectively. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go," The brunette replies, slapping the other male on the back. They walk and talk about nothing important for close to twenty minutes, and arrive at the station closest to Yosuke's place. Sitting on the train left them sharing Yosuke's mp3 player—for the brunette's birthday, his boyfriend had gotten a double headphone jack converter for him and a couple new belts, since he'd been complaining that he couldn't share his over the ear headphones if they sat together, and that his old belts were falling apart. It was some sort of free-form jazz meets electronica song, and Yu commented once they'd disembarked that he enjoyed it.

For a short while, they argue about politics, and then start discussing business. "My dad's not pressuring me into anything, but he just keeps asking me what I want to do with my future. Honestly, I'd do anything just to avoid being in school any more. But I don't want to just get stuck out in Inaba, taking up my dad's business, like it'd been handed to me on a silver platter." A dreamy sigh passes his lips. "I wanna make a name for myself, y'know? _Really_ do something. But I'm not exactly first in class."

"There are plenty of other ways to achieve recognition," His boyfriend offers positively. "Besides, being first in the class isn't all it's cracked up to be," The one who can say such a thing sighs, thinking of all the people that approach him and leave messages with his friends, asking if he has time to 'study' with them. "Of course I'm proud of myself, but people get awfully pushy."

Yosuke snickers as they walk into the small, dimly lit restaurant just a corner away from the record store he likes to frequent. "Table for two," The brunette tails the host at the front, and she checks the seating before folding the menus under her arm and leading them to a table. She leaves them on the top, saying who their waitress will be, and hurries back to her post. "Sorry it's such an issue for you. I know finals coming up isn't making things any easier."

"I manage," Gray eyes scan the menu, trying to find something. "I have no idea what to get."

"I hear that they have a pretty good spicy tuna _donburi_," Yosuke replies helpfully. "I think I'm gonna treat myself to the shrimp tempura bowl combo."

"I'll try it, then," Yu replies, and their waitress asks for their drink orders, and, if they are ready, their food as well, so they give her their choices. She smiles prettily and heads towards the back. "I think she likes you."

The brunette looks bewildered, and smirks. "You kidding me? I bet you three hundred yen she was gunning for you."

"Cheap bet," Yu retorts, sticking his tongue out childishly. Their drinks come a moment later—the brunette has a soda, and he's ordered cold green tea. "This is nice."

"Why don't we go on dates more often?" Yosuke says lowly, leaning his chin against his knuckles and smiling that charming little real smile that Yu loves so much. "I know I see you all the time, but I agree. It's nice to get away sometimes."

"Flattering me won't get me to take you home any faster, young man," Silvery locks shift as he wags his finger in front of the other senior's face.

He sticks his tongue out and says, "Oh darn," Sarcasm dripped in his tone. More talk about nothing shifts, and this time it's about what their mutual friends are thinking about doing. Yosuke's hesitance to think about his own future is put on the back burn in favor of listening ardently.

Yu tells him nothing new about Chie and Yukiko's futures, with the first finalizing her decision to become a policewoman, and the second choosing to inherit her inn after college. The dark-haired, traditional Japanese beauty wants to see more of the world before she is closed off in Inaba forever, and no one can fault her for that. Naoto may very well become a forensics scientist in congruence with being a detective, using her scientific mind and deductive reasoning to the fullest of her abilities. Kanji's choice is probably initially the most shocking, but later makes the most sense. He's come to grips with his previous insecurities, and wants to be a fashion designer, as well as a toy maker, so he starts doodling in a sketchbook and promoting his current side-business to the textile shop to whoever's listening. Lately, it seems that there's been a woman stopping by and admiring his work, so the young man, who's gotten rid of some more of his piercings, and has his dark hair growing out, is excited about the prospect of spending more time doing the things he truly enjoys.

"As for myself, well…" Yu drifts off for a moment, sipping at his drink, and pausing to thank their waitress for the steaming hot food. "I'm going into the college of sciences, but I'm not really sure what I want to do just yet. Whether I become a researcher or a practitioner, I am certain that I'd like to work in the field of medical science." The brunette gapes, not so much shocked as he is left in admiration. "I'll see about getting a recommendation into a medical faculty soon."

"Six more years of school, if you're doing your absolute best, and you never fail, ever. I think the pressure would kill me after day one," Yosuke groans, but he can't help the goofy smile on his face. "But if it's you? I don't doubt for a second you'd get in, hellish entrance exams and all. How long do you have to do residency after that, anyways?"

"Two years," Yu says, clapping his chopsticks together, and humming as he puts the food in his mouth. "This _is_ good."

Breaking off a piece of the shrimp in his mouth, Yosuke winks at him. "Told ya so. But man! You never told me. After all that grief the girls gave me about not handing in my survey to the teacher back in May, I can't believe it hasn't come up before now." Swallowing, something suddenly dawns on him, and he deflates a little, and tries to crack a joke anyways. "Guess that means you'll be leaving the countryside and all, huh?" It hurts to think about, so he tries to push it to the back of his mind.

After a moment, Yu stops eating and says quietly, "I was kind of hoping you'd come too."

"Me, go to school in the big city? Nah, man. I don't think I'd make it out of the entrance exams alive." The thought alone terrifies him down to his very bones, but he's cheered to hear the suggestion.

"It's not so much about school, more so that I just thought, you know," The subject is difficult to breach in the busy restaurant, but they are far from anyone that would know them today. "You'd like to live with me."

Brown eyes widen, and he coughs for a moment before wheezing out. "Seriously? I mean, I'd love to, but, y'know," _I thought for sure you'd leave and just forget me out here_, the brunette doesn't say, wishing his self-esteem issues weren't hitting him so hard today. "I guess, I dunno, I wasn't expecting you to be so frank."

Shaking that head of silvery hair, he remains fastidious in his gaze. "I'm very serious." Yosuke flushes before coming to his senses.

"There's not a whole lot out there for me these days. I guess I could find some part-time work up there, or heaven forbid transfer to the Junes in the city, but…" He feels all tangled up. "I dunno. I'm happy you asked me! I seriously am, but I guess I just feel like I'd be left behind or something."

Raising an eyebrow, he fishes for his cell phone, much to the brunette's curiosity. "I thought you might not exactly jump at the prospect, but maybe this'll give you some incentive." The message he'd gotten back earlier than he'd expected was a little winded, but piqued the other teen's interested.

_Dear Yosuke Hanamura,_

_We're delighted to hear from you, and we thank you for taking the time to fill everything out so painstakingly._ (He looks up and scoffs at that, and Yu shrugs, as though it'd been no big deal.) _You have quite the personality, and you seem to be exactly what we've been looking for around here. Everyone could use a little cheering up after we lost one of our key members, and if you'd be willing to come in and see us, perhaps we could listen to you play live sometime soon, and we could discuss your joining us full-time, when you are finished with high school, as you've requested. Arisato-kun assures us that you are a cheerful and likeable young man, and you seem relatable enough. These things are important to our industry._

_I'm not sure exactly how being flexible might help you with making records and modeling, but I'd certainly love to find out!_

_Many thanks,_

_Kiyo Inoue._

Yosuke's gone silent, and his mouth has been open for some time before Yu waves a hand in front of his face and speaks to him. "…Anyone in there?"

"If you tell me this is some elaborate joke, I'm gonna kill you in your sleep." The brunette sounds deadly serious, and Yu nods, trying not to shiver. Flushing bright red and grinning like a moron, he pumps his fist and barely holds back a scream. "Shit. _Shit_! I cannot _believe_ you did all this without telling me. My parents are gonna _flip_!"

"So, how about moving to Tokyo with me now?" Narukami offers, finishing off his bowl in a few more bites, with Hanamura digging in twice as enthusiastically as before.

"If you think I'm dumb enough to turn an offer like this down, you've officially got a knuckle sandwich in your future," The brunette's cheeks are stuffed with food and he can't stop grinning. "I can't _believe_ this. Me. A _performing artist._ I'm sure I'll start off at the bottom, thrown into some hodgepodge bands and being background noise for some late night TV show, but I'll be playing guitar, and maybe modeling too—for an _agency in Tokyo!_" After another pump of his fist and happy noises, he hurries to the counter to pay their bill, rushing back to the table. "Hurry up! We've gotta go home, like now." It's code for Yosuke wanting to kiss him, and Yu can't say no to that, so he nods and follows him out of the place.

They are restless and full of laughter on the train, and they can hardly wait, ducking into a stall at the station and kissing the breath of out each other for a few minutes, before Yu calmly tells him that they've got to be getting home. Yosuke groans in a frustrated manner, but agrees.

"Have I ever told you that you're the best?" The brunette beams up at him, squeezing his hand.

Pushing a piece of Yosuke's curled hair behind his ears, he hugs him and murmurs against his neck. "Never get tired of hearing it."

x

Yosuke goes out of town to visit Ms. Inoue just a week and a half later, changing the mail address to his own and exchanging messages with her to work out a time. He drops by after school on a Saturday afternoon, weaseling his way out of his shift, and follows the directions he'd hand written for himself to the recording station, cradling his guitar in its' case on the train trip. Nervous, but putting on his working face, he strides in and tells the desk attendant about his appointment before joking with her to take the edge off. She laughs at his cheesy attempt, calls to tell the woman about his arrival, and then points him to the elevator, saying which room and floor his appointer would be waiting in. When Ms. Inoue hears his knock, she tells him to come in, and she is prettier than he expected, in a motherly sort of way.

Her hair is tossed up in a lazy bun, lots of long strands hanging from it, and the mole under her left eye is sexy, but she is waaaay out of his league (and age range, besides). "Ah, Hanamura-kun!" She's a cheerful sort, and her formal suit seems out of place with her upbeat attitude. "It is _so_ good to meet you. Would you rather discuss business or do music first?"

"Music, if you don't mind, ma'am," He smiles sheepishly, and she laughs before agreeing with him.

"I don't blame ya. I'd save business for last too, if I could," Inoue says, just before leading him through the labyrinth of offices and cubicles to find the recording studio at the right end of the hall. "Tanaka! You in here?"

"Yes ma'am. I've been getting all the equipment set up, just as you requested," He says with a smile. "Is this who you were talking about?"

"Yosuke Hanamura, at your service, sir," The teenager bows, and the man in his mid-thirties laughs a little bit, telling him to stand up, and not to be so formal. "Um, is there anything special that I need to do?"

"Just pick a song, and tell us why you picked it. Everything's ready for you to go. Make yourself comfortable first, and take your time." Inoue tells him with a wink, joining her colleague in the room that has all the mixers, computers, and levels. Through the glass, they can see and hear the brunette adjusting the knobs for each string, and tuning by ear a bit. He holds the pick with a sort of nervous tension for a few minutes, and then takes a deep breath, speaking clearly and sounding confident, but whether he truly feels that way or not is a mystery.

"This is a song that was in English, but a friend of mine helped me translate it, so I wanted to do a cover of it. It sort of ties into a song I wrote, but it didn't have any lyrics, so I sometimes play them together." When he plays, he quiets up and calms down, pick strumming rhythmically against strings. It's a softly toned love song, bittersweet and happy at the same time. It seems escapist, and the translated bridge of lyrics is fantastically done, Inoue and Tanaka comment quietly, still listening intently. _"Way above the clouds, and high above the stars, no one knows where we are, but return to earth and do it all over again. 'Cause I know, that after tonight, you don't have to look up at the stars._" As his voice, entirely different from his warbling speaking tone, trails off, his hands keep on going, into a short few chord combinations. It's reminiscent of a boat rocking the water in the evening tide, and the brunette simply hums in tune with his playing. After a couple minutes, he finishes, lowers the neck of the guitar, breathes out slowly, and rubs the back of his neck.

Inoue and Tanaka clap, sharing a look, before coming out of the soundboard room to speak to him. "Lovely work, if a bit unpolished," The woman comments positively. "You know, for such a cheery guy, you sure like some serious music."

"Everybody's gotta let their tensions out somewhere, right?" Yosuke says, that same winning smile back on his cheeks. "Was it alright?"

"Trust me, kid, we'll be seeing you again," Tanaka replies this time, giving him a hand in packing the guitar back in its' case. "Now then, I'm sure you two've got plenty to talk about, so I'm headed on my merry way."

"Thanks," Inoue says to him as he nods and disappears around a corner. After the brown-haired teen follows her back to her office, takes a seat after being prompted to, and squirms for a while, she starts pulling out some papers. "I know there's a lot here, so I guess we'll just cover the basics. Honestly, I love your singing voice—you're young, but it suits you. But I like your ear a lot better. First things first, before we start recording albums, we've gotta start with one song. Maybe you and your girlfriend can make some lyrics to go with that piece you finished off with." She sifts through the papers, words and words of technobabble and contract language that swims above his head. "More stuff about the freedom to release your information, and of course the understand that we'll take care of you. Pretty much everything in there says that we're liable, if you get injured, so we make our best effort to make sure that doesn't happen. Are you interested in travelling at all?"

He thinks about it for a moment before shaking his head. "Not a whole lot. I mean, if it's just around Japan, sure, but I'm not confident in my ability to learn languages. Heck, if we're being completely honest, my Japanese isn't all that great." She giggles at that, so he figures he's done something right. "Besides, my," the word feels wrong just thinking about, but it's not the first time he's told this lie. "Girlfriend would be upset if was gone all the time…or I hope so, anyways." Knowing Yu, he'd probably smile when he waved him off, but he might've held in his pressures and exhaustions until he burst, and then he'd phone and tell him so, and Yosuke would've been heartbroken to hear about it, unable to rush to his side and joke with him about stupid movies until the worries lift from his chest.

"Wouldn't want that," Inoue agrees, her voice understanding and motherly again. "So, what exactly would you like to do?"

"Play guitar and maybe a little modeling on the side? I was actually pretty surprised when you said I could, but if you think I'm suited for it…"

"You'd be perfect. You have a great smile, after all, and your facial structure, height, and weight are great. Your hair's well-kept, too."_ It suits you_, Yu had said about his most recent haircut, and he has to hold back his out-of-context snicker. "We could start doing a little bit of that while you're working on that song, just so people in the industry know who you are."

"I can probably only make it out to the city a couple times a week, at least until vacation." Yosuke says. "Is that alright?"

"Sounds like a plan." They talk some more about the formalities, and all the things he has to sign. There's folders and books, introducing him to some of the things about the music and fashion industries he'd never even dreamed about, and as he impatiently waits for the train to arrive, he phones his significant other.

"I have had the best, longest day ever, and the next time we have a day off, I swear I'm gonna let you screw me on the back porch."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Yu teases from the other side after he picks up. "That good, huh?"

"Dude, they hired me. I'd say it was pretty damn awesome," Yosuke responds lightly, feeling like he's walking on air. "Said they wanted me to put words to that one I was humming to a couple weeks back—remember the one?"

"There's probably thirty of those you've got half-finished, but I'll take your word for it," The familiar scritch-scratch of a pencil against paper is audible even through the phone speaker. "I can tell you're really excited."

Yosuke beams at no one that can see him, kicking his feet against the ground restlessly before adjusting his guitar. "Only the most excited I've been about anything all summer! I know I've said it before, but you're the best. Oops, train's coming. But before I go—Inoue-san said there was something in my questionnaire about me being flexible…what'd you mean by that?"

Gray eyes gleam and he answers, "You never know what they'd have you do as model…I was trying to offer her some…_steamier_ options."

Yosuke's face heats, and he stammers back a response. "I take back what I said about the porch, asshole."

"No take-backs," Yu says before the line clicks off, and the brunette groans.

On the other side, just as the silver-haired teen sees that phone call to an end, another makes his mobile buzz back to life, and he raises an eyebrow. It's an unfamiliar number, but it's likely to be one of his jobs asking him to come in and cover a shift last minute. He hates to be unreliable at times like these, but studying is first and foremost for him, and he sighs, regretting the inevitable conversation.

"Narukami here," He tries to at least fake sounding chipper, and the voice that greets him on the other side is a pleasant surprise.

"Hey, Yu-nii-chan," Nanako's voice, tinny through the receiver, says. "Sorry to bother you. I just wanted to let you know I was staying over at Yuko-chan's for the night all of the sudden, but Dad was the one who told me not to come home right now. Are you two fighting again?"

Entirely confused by her prompt, he shakes his head. "No…I guess I'll go see what's the matter, though. Thanks, Nanako."

"No problem," And with that, she hangs up. Hanging his head with a sigh, he decides to close the books for tonight, imaging that his uncle is dead drunk, and dealing with that probably _will_ cause him and the older man to fight. This is twice as bad as going to work on a last minute notice.

Just as he's getting ready to leave his room and go down the stairs, he hears raised voices bickering, and he opts to stay with the door cracked to listen in, rather than interrupting. "It's no business of yours if I leave the center! You've been trying to fix me up all squeaky clean for _years_, and I'm calling bullshit. You know as well as I do that I'm never gonna get better, so you should wash your hands of me and call it a day!"

"Now hold on just a second—I bet you're just having an off-day because you forgot to take your hormone-balancers this morning, and you're lashing out at me. I'm not givin' up on you just because you fell off the rocker one time."

It's Adachi, down there arguing with Dojima, and Yu feels his heart race with every moment more he listens. What a mess. Then he hears the sound of flesh meeting flesh, and now he _knows_ it will soon be time to intervene. "Stop _testing my patience_! I said I was through playing nice! I can't fake nice-cop attitude long enough to get any sort of decent work in the force. Shits like me just fuck up lives like yours, so you should _leave me alone_ before I hurt you any worse." Yu wants to run down the stairs and pull them apart, but his feet are frozen on the top stair.

"C'mon then, slug me again," The cop threatens, the sound of fabric shifting a sign that he's stood up or at least recovered himself from the hit. "Y'think hitting me's gonna solve all your problems?"

Adachi's voice is a little quieter, and as the two get further from the kitchen and closer to the living room, Yu can see that he is quivering. "No. I know it's not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't feel good."

Dojima sighs, and ruffles the other man's hair. "That's what you're taking all those kendo classes for, right? D'you wanna switch to karate or something? Maybe boxing?"

Like a petulant child, the taller, bonier male crosses his arms and scowls stubbornly. "I hardly imagine that any sort of boxing club would recruit someone like me for a competition of any sort."

Impatiently, the rugged-voiced cop sighs again. "Never said you had to do anything formal, I'm just trying to help you take the edge off without hurtin' anyone."

"What I _need_ to take the edge off is a good lay, but unfortunately, it's hard to find a good hooker that'll let you tie 'em up and smear animal blood on their face," Yu is repulsed by the very notion, and it seems his uncle is as well. "Nothing quite like a bitch begging for her life while you screw her 'til she bleeds."

"Adachi," Dojima says warningly, a glare heavy in his eyes. "All I'm saying is, you're going through a hard time, I know. And honestly, your little polite act is a helluva lot scarier than whatever _this_ charade is. But I think you'd do Inaba a lotta good by working with us. You know what it's like, and you can show those kids like you that they can grow up and make something of themselves, even when the goin' gets tough."

He huffs a little bit, and turns downcast. After another moment, he sighs and glares at the other man despondently. "I hate it when you start making sense. It makes me nauseated."

"Yeah, yeah, remind me again when you're back to the slightly less infuriating Adachi," Dojima says, throwing his arms open and offering his chest to the pale younger man. Slowly, carefully, as though his uncle might burst into flames if he holds on too tightly, Tohru presses back into the awkward hug. Callous fingers sift through his hair as the one being hugged closes those dark, shadowed eyes. "I ain't promisin' nothing, but Nanako's not home tonight, and I don't hear Yu either."

Oh no. The teenager hurries to his room to shut off the light, and half-crawls under his sofa to make sure his uncle can't see him, on the off-chance that he checks the room.

"Offering yourself to a sociopathic lunatic," The teenager can hear Adachi's taunting, muffled as it is, through the floor, and he vaguely thinks that his uncle hadn't been joking about having seen it all on the force. He also wants to crawl under a rock and die, but that's a different story. Now that he's making an effort not to be noticed, he silences his phone and stays very still, which only makes their interactions that much louder. "You _are_ a servant of the people."

"Better watch your mouth before I take it back," Dojima warns blithely, and the younger man apparently doesn't take the threat for granted, because their noises become more and more obscene, and Yu feels exceedingly uncomfortable, trapped up in his room, hoping that they would take their business back to his uncle's room before too long, so that he, for one, does not have to hear the two of them.

"I wasn't kidding about the tying," Adachi says with a sound suspiciously like he's licking his lips, and Dojima shudders, wondering exactly how he'd gotten himself into this mess. After they stumble back to his room, he hates himself a little bit for giving into his whims.

The next morning at breakfast, when Yu exits and re-enters the quaint residence quietly, ill-rested and with a bag full of clothes he'd thrown together in the wee hours, he greets his uncle and his guest like he'd had no idea what had happened, and promises to go pick Nanako up from her friend's house that Sunday morning without another word.

Adachi's grin is snake-like as the teen heads out, looking haggard and rather worse for the wear. "Have a safe trip," His words drip with sarcasm, and Yu fixes him with a stare before he departs, shaking his head of the odd sensation and disquieting thoughts. With a frown, he notices that his uncle's wrists are bruises from the corner of his eye, and sighs, locking the door behind him.

x

It's a few more weeks before he gets stressed out enough to talk about it with his busier-than-ever boyfriend. They've had exams come and pass, to the great relief of all the seniors, but that doesn't mean it's time to relax, because university testing is just around the corner. Still, Yu has a little time to cool down and breathe one Friday morning, so he calls his friends and asks if they'd want to do anything. Kou and Daisuke are amazingly free, so the four of them hang somewhere by the strip mall, and the two sports jockeys leave the brunette and his partner alone around twelve. Nanako is spending two weeks with her mother, and heaven only knows where his uncle is, so it is this time that becomes perfect to talk about it.

Yosuke elegantly spills his drink all over himself, spitting and sputtering and generally confused. "What the _fuck_? Adachi? _Adachi?_ As in, cut the hearts out of rabbits and put them in a bag, and let them smell up my locker at work, and then tell us about how death was a pleasant inevitability—_that_ Adachi?!" Yu honestly had forgotten those pranks the younger man had pulled after he'd become comfortable in town. On days he wasn't required to be at the mental wellness center, he perused Yaso-Inaba, scouting out Dojima's nephew's friends at places he knew they might be, for the hell of it. He wasn't allowed into their school, of course, which left him the options of hanging out around the police headquarters, and they had little patience for his unpredictability, even if he might be becoming one of them some day soon, or heading to Junes, Tatsumi Textiles, Marukyu Tofu, and the old shrine. Honestly, he caught them fairly often at the cafeteria of Junes, where they would meet for however long after school, hanging out. Upon charming the young women who worked at the superstore, he found he could manage to slip all manner of things into the Hanamura boy's locker, as long as he disguised them as gifts for someone he viewed in the same manner as a young brother. Yosuke, the object of his torture, obviously wasn't going to forget any time soon.

"That Adachi-san," Yu replies with a grimace, handing him a towel and letting him fix himself up. "I can't exactly say that I approve of their relationship in good conscience."

"Yeah, _hell_ no!" Yosuke agrees fervently. "Shit, that's messed up. And Nanako-chan—does she know about them yet?"

"I hope she doesn't find out on accident somehow," Yu sighs, letting his head fall against the table. "Honestly, I don't wanna think about anything. Studying's driving me absolutely nuts. And it's devastatingly hot outside."

"No wonder you needed to get out," Yosuke grimaces, fanning himself. "Isn't the air conditioner working?"

"Uncle's trying to cut back on the bill, so we're only turning it on if the whole family's gonna be here for more than a few hours. Since it's just me, I open the windows and turn on the fan. I go fishing at night, sometimes, just for the breeze."

"Yeah. But seriously, Adachi?" The brunette is stuck there, and Yu nods. "That's really fucked up. Who do you think is on bottom?"

Yu has a sinking feeling that he knows, but it makes him want to gag a little bit. "I don't even want to think about it."

"Oh god, it's your uncle, isn't it? That's so wrong. Like, the sickest wrong." Yosuke sighs and drinks some of his water. "Okay, okay, you're looking green, so maybe we should change subjects. Sorry 'bout all that insanity…wish I could make it up to you. I know we've both been really busy lately, sooo…" Yosuke drawls with a coy look. "We're here alone, right?"

The silver-haired senior perks up immediately, and smirks back. "I checked twice. So, you gonna make good on that promise?"

Yosuke thinks back before blushing and stumbling over an excuse. "Ah man, it's the middle of the day, and you can _not_ be serious."

"My neighbors are on vacation," Yu replies, putting their warm hands together and humming quietly.

This time, when they make love, it is up against the cool glass of the sliding door leading to the lawn, and they open the door a little bit for fresh air, Yosuke being on the receiving end today, makes noises that give the impression that he might be getting off on the risky situation. "It's so damn _hot_," He whines and claws the glass, sweaty and sticky and breathing heavily. Yu leaves to get ice, and trails it down his skin for effect, and the brunette regrets ever having complained about it.

"You know you love it," His boyfriend whispers, scraping the cube down the brunette's spine, watching carefully as he arched back against it, the contrast startling him.

They don't go more than one round, because Yu does agree that it's far too hot outside, and Yosuke had promised to help his father with the lawn before the sun went down.

Before he leaves, while he's helping the third resident of the Dojima household clean up, he makes an off-hand comment. "I know we sort of went at our relationship ass-backwards, and between your uncle's craziness, and my family's odd sort of recognition, I think we're gonna be alright, anyways. 'Sides, your uncle's an adult. He's gotta deal with his own issues like one."

Yu ponders over it for a time before nodding back. "Yeah. You're right. There's no use fretting over things I can't change."

Yosuke chuckles. "I can't believe _I_ was the one who said something supportive, for once. The end is coming sooner than we believe." He kisses Narukami goodbye briefly before heading back to his house, shoving his shoes back on and closing the door carefully behind himself.

That night, when Yu has begun studying again, lying on his couch, he thinks about the words, and decides to speak to his uncle in the wee hours, after Nanako has gone to bed. He tells him that he knows about Adachi, but tries his very best not to sound overly accusatory or chiding, because he wants to be respected as an adult, and to respect the older man as a father-figure at the same time.

"I see…" Dojima says, sounding old and tired. "…I know it's not…healthy, and that Nanako should know what's going on in my life, or something, but I just can't find the way to start. What would she do if she knew her father didn't _want_ to get married again, and that I was tangled up in his mess?"

Yu shrugs and says the first thing that comes to mind. "All I'm asking is that you think about it. You don't have to do anything right away."

Dojima absently scratches his forearms before scowling and then answering. "Yeah…yeah, I'll think about it."

"Thanks, uncle," Yu turned towards the staircase, but was stopped by a grunt with his foot on the step.

"How's Hanamura doing? He treat you right?" His uncle sounds conflicted, as if his own relationship is coloring the way he dictates the words.

"He's great." His nephew smiles back earnestly before continuing his trek upstairs, and he means it. Dojima sits back in his chair and sighs again.

They each have their own difficulties, but it seems that the boy is becoming a man more quickly than he ever had. The policeman wants a smoke more than he's wanted one ever before, slumped in that chair, listening to the clock tick on the wall.


	3. Irreversible Ache

A/N: This one took a few more days to crank out because I was busy, and it was a lot more emotional than the previous couple of chapters, so here is chapter three, and happy reading! Shout-outs to the few people that have reviewed—everything you guys have said has warmed my heart. There will likely be 4-ish more chapters to go with this story, and I hope you guys will stick around for them all. :3

* * *

_**Vice**_

* * *

"_Sex: the thing that takes up the least amount of time, and causes the most amount of trouble."_

-John Barrymore

* * *

Yu tiptoes down the steps quietly, hoping not to arouse the living room's occupants, and failing, despite his efforts. His uncle blearily groans and frees his hands from something he cannot see, mostly because his eyes are crossing against his will. "The hell 'appened 'ere last night," The detective drags his fingers down his stubbled chin and closes his eyes to stop the room from spinning.

"Apparently, you had a rather pleasant evening out with Adachi-san," The lump that had been the other man sprawled halfway on the couch and halfway on the floor snored away, with his belt lying somewhere else, and his hair looking like a cuckoo's nest. "Nanako had been looking forward to spending New Year's with you, but I managed to put her to bed before you could start saying things you didn't mean to, during your…inebriation."

"Fuck," Dojima says lowly, hating the looming threat of a day hung-over, the headache already pulsing slowly in his head. "What'd I say?"

"Stuff about work, and your ex-wife, mostly, and nothing nice," His nephew comments from the kitchen, turning on the coffee pot despite the early hour. "Either way, I figured that she wouldn't very much appreciate your language, or Adachi-san's, for that matter."

The cop groans, and the scrape of his bristles against his nails comes before a heavy sigh. "I've _gotta_ stop letting myself go with this kid. I can't hold it like I used to," Dojima says as he prepares to sling the younger man over his shoulder. "I've gotta get him home before she wakes up."

"Let him stay," Yu sounds rather demanding, even though he is typically an obedient and well-mannered young man. "I think it's high time that the two of you discussed this," It is then that the father of the girl notices his daughter, peeking around the corner nervously, a determined gleam in her eyes that she must've gotten from either he or Chisato.

Since the last time the two of them had been talking about it, months had then passed, and the adult had been actively avoiding even speaking Adachi's name in conversation. Only after this self-censorship began did Yu notice that his uncle had spoken about him so frequently, regardless of the fact that he'd never brought the younger man home much, or at least, not when he and Nanako were at home. After August had passed without any sign that Dojima was even thinking about breaching the topic, September had come, and with it, school had taken up most of Yu and Yu's friends' time, so he didn't think about it much.

Chie and Yosuke desperately asked for his, Akihiko's (as it turned out, he had quite the gift for studying, even though sports were his passion), and Yukiko's help with exams, but between still trying to keep up with their underclassmen's lives, hanging out, and everything else, it had become a subject on the back of his mind. Because his significant other only wanted to graduate high school in one piece, he could throw his time into his recordings and music, but lyrics escaped him. He'd been offered someone else's one day at the studio, but had denied them, saying that it felt too fake. This meant that their friends had to chip in with some beautiful, and some horrendous, poems and lyrics and rhyme, but curbed their sexual pursuits by more than half, on the negative side, from September onwards, and they took whatever they could get, when they could get it. The last time they'd earnestly had time to talk, Yosuke had brought the topic of his uncle and horrendous choice of a mate up again, because Adachi was getting bored, and this led to his increased visits to the supermarket.

Now his little messages for Yosuke were more in the line of dripping ink, looking somewhat like fake suicide notes, except that they were written for the brunette instead of the man that would soon be joining the investigative force under Dojima's recommendation. They were frequent, and the quote-unquote worse the younger man of the relationship was feeling, the more often these messages came, and the more violently they were worded.

_Death. Countryside's so boring, and if someone would just LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME_ —the red script said in large letters_—they'd see that I'm worthless. Escape, escape, spread my wings and fly back to the city life._

"Honestly," Yosuke had said while shaking his head, "His stupid letters piss me off and I just wanna burn 'em, but this one would make a good song. But seriously, I'd appreciate it if you'd talk some sense into your uncle, because whatever he's doing about this situation, it's not the right choice. It's not making anyone's life any easier."

So here they were, talking about it. Obviously, this wasn't the right time, but if they didn't talk about things now, and his uncle had a say, there never _would_ be a right time. Yu was worried more about the messages than anything, but when he'd been putting his cousin to bed, the teenager had decided that enough was enough.

"It's a family meeting," Yu says calmly, sensing his uncle's panic and his cousin's heightening concern. "No fighting, no yelling. We're just gonna get things out in the open, right now." He gives his uncle a look that he cannot contest, and Dojima feels like he's going to throw up.

Honestly, Yu isn't sure that he's not going to.

Dojima sighs before inhaling deeply, and then proceeds to stumble over his explanation entirely. "Nanako…I am sorry for…keeping you in the dark, 'specially after your, err, big bro here was…_mature_ enough to, um, handle his business." He shuffles his feet, and his gaze focuses everywhere but her eyes. When his pupils come back to Yu, the gray-haired teen has his arms folded over his chest, and he shakily continues. "You wouldn't be…terribly disappointed if I, uh, dated someone…who's not your mom, right?"

The little girl shakes her head, messy chocolate locks swaying back and forth. "No. Mom said that it's grown-up stuff, but you guys are allowed to have other people, and I might have a step-dad or something one day, anyways," She sounds more composed than either Yu or Dojima feel, even though her voice is low, trying not to wake their guest just beside the hall they are conversing in. "Why?"

"Even if, errm, they weren't…a 'mom', per-say?" Dojima's palms are sweaty, and he has to keep from wringing them.

"I guess not," Nanako agrees, nodding a bit. "Could I go get dressed now? I wanted to go to the shrine with big bro. But you're happy, right?"

Dojima winces, but manages to say, "As close as I'm gonna get."

She fixes him with a pointed gaze. "That's not good. Who is it?"

Yu starts to answer, but his uncle cuts in, saying, "Hey now, I've told you enough, and that's enough questions for today. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna take him home. You two have fun tonight. Happy new years, baby," He leans down and kisses his daughter, who complains about his five-o'clock shadow, and then achingly reaches down to pick the mumbling and sleepy Adachi up. Dojima asks Yu for help, ignoring the younger man's weak-kneed responses, and hurrying to get out to the car.

Before they leave, Yu gives him a stern look, pauses, and asks, "Why didn't you tell her? It's not like she won't figure it out on her own someday."

Swallowing regret and nothing else, because his mouth is dry, the detective says, "How could I? Last night, Adachi and I went out drinking because my ex-wife said something that made me angry, and he was almost kicked out of the facility for holding an orderly at knifepoint. We got drunk enough to laugh it off, and I don't remember more than a couple of things at the bathroom of some club. You think I can just walk in, and show my daughter where he tried to slit both of our wrists last night, and say, 'That guy I've been seeing…he's nuts, but get used to it'?" He shakes his head, sighs, and looks at the other man to the left of him, snoring away with a flat expression. "It's just not safe. But I can't keep ignoring him, either."

"Uncle, you're a bit of a moron," Yu offers, disappointment creeping into his voice.

"Class-A, at your service," He grumbles, upset at being jilted, but unable to deny the truth. "Have fun today. I left you two some money for dinner."

What Yu doesn't say is that the man is a blasé parent, at best, and a terrible judge of partners, besides. He can't even believe that they're going to work together, for the next half of forever, on top of the rest of their insanity. But the New Year is a time for new beginnings, so he can only hope that things will begin to sort themselves out.

However, he doubts that, even though he wants to believe.

Nanako gets dressed shortly after their confrontation outdoors, and emerges in the living room, putting her snow boots on. Her thick, dark hair is pulled in a low bun today, and the remainder of her winter gear joins her on the couch. Yu finds her after coming inside; shivering at the cool air out there, and hurriedly goes to his room for his things. His white pea coat still looks as pristine as it had the day he had purchased it from the store, and his gray scarf matches his hair more than anything else, so he nods at the mirror and tucks a piece of hair behind his ear before heading back down the stairs. "Ready?" He looks at his young cousin, who has since finished tossing her scarf around her neck, and pulling her hat over her styled locks. She nods back at him, so he slips the gloves he'd had in the pockets of his coat on, and lends her his hand. He opens, closes, and then locks the door before they start on their walk.

Amagi runs into them first, meeting on the main road's intersection. She shivers and smiles, cheeks rosy from the cool air, and comments on how cold it had gotten in just the span of a few days. They briefly talk about the news, until Nanako makes a noise, and they decide to include her in the conversation, despite its' serious nature. The second-year in elementary school listens attentively, even though she must ask about the meaning of different governmental positions and actions are every other minute. They are proud of her for keeping up for so long, so when she whines that she's given up on understanding all that adult stuff for now, they chuckle and change the topic to something a bit lighter.

Chie is the next person they find, and Akihiko is right behind her, sneezing. He's bundled up, and wearing a face mask, holding up a gloved hand to keep them from getting any closer. "I don't want to make you all sick," He sniffles between the words, nose lit up from irritation. The five of them end up chatting with Nanako about school for the last few minutes before their arrival at the shopping district. Yosuke, Teddie, Kanji, Rise, and Naoto are waiting for them there, and their band of ten then branch off into several different conversations. The shrine is bustling with activity for the New Year's celebration, and the young adults as well as the child greet several familiar faces.

Nanako asks for permission to go with the girls for fortunes while the 'boys'—Naoto had decided to stand with Kanji, Teddie was with Rise and the others—held their place in line. Yosuke noticed Yu's distant expression, and waved a hand in front of his face, eyebrow raised. "S'matter, partner?"

Yu shook his head, unaware that he'd been so far away. "Uncle and I had a bit of a confrontation this morning," The young man says, pinching the bridge of his nose, and attracting the attention of their other two friends. "I wish I felt like we could talk without feeling like we're fighting. Now, besides just my concerns, Nanako's worried about him, because he won't tell her anything."

"Ah," Naoto and Yosuke both murmur knowingly, while Kanji furrows his brow. It is the young woman who continues. "Detective Dojima is a rather stubborn man, both at work and at home, it would seem. He probably believes that he's saving her from himself, but that attitude only serves to distance the relationship between the three of you."

"Basically, his 'tude's just makin' shit worse, and I say to hell with that," Kanji chimes in with a scowl, making his three companions chuckle for a moment. "Want me to make Nanako somethin' nice to take the edge off, senpai?"

"You don't have to," Yu assures him with a little smile. "If you'd like, you're more than welcome, but I don't want to put you out of your way. Aren't you supposed to be finishing the designs for Asako-san?"

Asako-san is the woman that took an interest in their now fully black-haired friend's fashions and knitting talents. She offered him clean little deadlines to turn things in by, much like Inoue-san did for Yosuke, but in person, rather than via e-mail. He often complained that he was worked to the bone, and was due to leave school this year and not the following year, because studies had never been his forte, and with this job opportunity, he could continue to support his mother, and do what he enjoyed.

"I always have time for you, senpai!" Kanji said with confidence, puffing up. "'Sides, I finished early this time, so I've got some spare time, watchin' the shop with Ma. I'll whip somethin' up and swing by your place in the next couple of days."

Yosuke rolls his eyes before giving his boyfriend a look, saying without words, _Is this about what I think it's about?_

Yu half-winces and blinks, replying, _Yeah._

A sideways glance from the brunette says, _We'll talk later_, but then they stop that brief communication, and find the girls getting close again.

"How'd it go?" Yosuke starts, winking at them. "Get one for me too, I hope?"

"Yeah, yeah, I got your stupid fortune," Chie teases, and her voice garners the attention of her boyfriend, who had gotten caught up in talking to some middle-aged man about sports in line behind them, scarcely interacting with the other boys in their group. Handing everyone their envelopes, they began opening them. "Mine said something about being wary of places that are open too late. Guess it means to stop running to the convenience store at all hours of the night."

Akihiko turns around and stops arguing with the man to receive his fortune, and stomps his foot, his sniffling making him seem so much less imposing than he typically does. He reads it, and it promises good fortune. It tells him to continue paying attention to his surroundings, and he sneezes before sheepishly noting that he should do that more often.

Yosuke receives one warning him about an oncoming misfortune, and says to stay away from traffic, if possible. The brunette whole-heartedly believes in that fortune, so he murmurs a chant, and tells the others that he will wish to pass the exams and keep his bike in one piece, once they arrive at the bells.

Yukiko's says her luck is moderate, but her love luck is low, which makes her frown. "But I can't let that get me down," She says proudly, raising a fist in the air. "I'm gonna win him over with my cooking." Her friends all try to tell her that _this_ is what would bring her bad luck in romance, but she stopped listening, and they heaved a collective sigh, hoping that whomever she was interested in had a stomach cast of iron.

Kanji's fortune offers him an overabundance of good luck in finance, and he pumps his fist, but only for a moment, because Naoto's fortune warns of supremely ill fate in matters of business. She blithely notes that it probably has something to do with the case she is working, and this only motivates her to work harder at catching the culprit.

Rise's says nothing particularly significant, and says that her luck will be neither good nor bad, and that her endeavors are just as likely to succeed as not. She pouts at this, and kicks up a fuss, but they don't mind. They are used to her antics by this time.

Teddie's fortune is moderately bad luck, and a warning that he should be careful with his academics, which he takes to heart. His teacher had said his reading and writing were sublime for his age, but the rest of his subjects were not so stellar.

The cousins end up getting the same fortune, by a stroke of luck, which is fairly high luck, ease at making new friends, and achievement in academics. They both share a smile at that, and give each other a quick little high five about the good news.

Everyone takes their turn ringing the bells, and there are three at the quaint little shrine. They first throw their coins, then ring the bell, clap, and pray. After everyone goes, they gather themselves again, and decide to head somewhere to eat. The destination ends up being the Dojima household, because Yu said he'd been expecting this to happen, and prepared accordingly. They sat around and ate snacks, most focal being the _mikan_ and the _mochi_, chatting and talking about different stuff. Some time in the afternoon, Yosuke pulled Yu aside and they talked on the stairwell.

"So," The brunette started, arms folded across his chest. "What happened?"

"Pretty much what I said earlier," Yu sighed, folding his hands between his legs. "I wanted him to talk things over with us, but I'm starting to think I went about it all the wrong way. Near the end of it, the two of us ended up getting mad at each other, and I'm sure Nanako knows, but she doesn't know _why_."

"So, what's the big secret?" Yosuke asks with a wary tone, knowing something of the situation from what his gray-haired classmate had told him before.

"I think Adachi-san's hurting uncle," Yu sounds halfway panicked, despite himself, and the tone makes the brunette inhale sharply, suddenly keyed up to the tenth level. "Now, I don't know the whole story, but he feels ashamed too ashamed of himself to tell his daughter about them, and in turn, Adachi-san gets more and more out of hand. If he would just put all the issues on the table, I think that they could at least work through them, but he's intent on shouldering the backlash from both sides."

"Shit," The brunette says, and without saying anything, Yu agrees with the sentiment. "That's messed up. I mean, I already knew that their relationship was fucked up the wazoo, but wow. Now I sort of feel bad for pestering you to get Adachi off my back."

The gray-haired teen shakes his head. "S'not your fault. It's not fair to lay uncle with all the blame, because Adachi-san isn't mentally stable, but he'd be making much faster progress if he didn't feel his relationship being repressed by his partner."

"And if his daughter knew why he was disappearing on odd days and coming back in the dead of night," Yosuke murmurs sympathetically. "Poor Nanako-chan."

"Yeah," His boyfriend says, letting out one more sigh before changing the topic. "We've been gone for a few minutes—might's well head back out before they start getting worried."

For the next couple of hours, everyone continued checking in, mostly because they hadn't had a lot of time to just relax like this in recent times. Exams were in the next couple of weeks, but the studious ones of the group had worked hard not to have anything due when they went back to school in a couple of days. Yosuke told them about the song he'd recently finished, and promised to let them listen to the recording as soon as he had a copy, while Rise told him that he ought to do a shoot with her, because she'd be back in town before January was over. The brunette told the young idol that he'd follow through as soon as he could, but he'd have to call Inoue-san first and make sure one of her photographers could make the shoot.

Yu said that his recommendations for colleges were coming in too often for him to keep track of, and according to his status in school, there were plenty of advanced medical schools eager for his enrollment. No one had been surprised, in the end, and he smiled a bit as they teased him for being such an egghead.

Chie said her police enrollment program would not begin until after she had graduated from Yasogami High, and Akihiko assured her that it wasn't easy, but it was worth the pain. They often tried to get in contact with Dojima, if for nothing more than networking, but it seemed that he was on patrol more and more these days, rather than at the station, or at home. Yu and Nanako grimaced, but did not dwell on the fact they knew well.

The rest of them were stuck at a crossroads—Naoto knew she would continue doing what her family had done for generations, but she felt her intelligence was being overridden by impatience, Kanji wanted to help Asako-san out in Tokyo, but refused to move, and Akihiko wanted to finish his police program and finish college at the same time, but it was rough getting in after taking such a long break from studying.

Teddie and Nanako played some card game nearby, and then talked about television, as well as other things pertinent to kids their age, instead of being forced to converse with the teenagers who would soon be adults.

When Dojima slumped in, sending all of them tight glares before hurrying back to his room, they broke their celebration up and went their separate ways.

The topic didn't come up for the rest of the month, but it didn't matter, because they'd end up bringing the topic up again in a matter of weeks, albeit not at the most ideal time.

x

In February, girls were making chocolate for boys, and the like, when Yu pitched the brunette an idea over the phone. "I can't study any more. I think I've crammed an entire text-book into my brain, and I refuse to do it any longer, I _swear_."

"Uhhh," Yosuke replies eloquently. "I dunno, dude…I would say play games, but you don't have any consoles or anything. I can come over, if you want?" It's a Saturday night, and the house is empty, and Yu contemplates saying no for exactly one-tenth of a second.

"Yes," He groans out, his voice muffled by the pages of the book he has his nose shoved into tiredly. "Please. Yes, absolutely. Like, as soon as possible."

"Should I bring my guitar?" The brunette sounds like he's moving around and packing his stuff up, half-comforting and half-worried. "I mean, if you want me to sing you to sleep or something—"

"If it's gonna make your trip more than ten minutes longer, no," Yu says, sounding exasperated. "No one's home, and we haven't had sex in ages. I mean, if you don't want to, that's fine, but—"

"You kidding? Hell, I was wondering why you weren't asking. Well then, mind if I take just a couple other minutes to grab something? _I've_ got a surprise for you this time. Funnily enough, it came from something Ted suggested."

The silver-haired teen makes a contented sort of purr and says, "I'm excited now," And licks his lips as if to express his anticipation. Yosuke tells his mother that he's on his way out; a bag and a hard case with his guitar inside of it are slung over his shoulder. His bike squeaks, but otherwise cooperates, and he gets to the Dojima's house in record time, sweating beneath the fuzzy collar of his coat.

Yosuke puts his guitar away safely before tossing off his coat, and then he starts opening the bag. Inside, there are several articles of clothing, and at first they didn't make Yu think of much, but the brunette keeps going, a huge grin on his face, and the silver-haired teen's eyes grow wide, and he starts holding back a giggle.

"Tadaaaah," Yosuke gestures to the outfits he's laid out on the couch. "One for you, one for me."

Yu tentatively touches them. "Where did you even find these in our sizes?" It's a dark, loose skirt that would easily reach down past his knees, and an accompanying white blouse that had black trim around the collar's ruffles. The other outfit consists of a red plaid mini-skirt and a tan, oversized cardigan that had a cute bear printed across its' front. There was another, plain white t-shirt with it, and the two of them simply could not stop staring. "And what brought this on? I mean, er, not to sound weird, but this was a fantastic idea."

"Ted was the one who wanted a dress, and my mom indulged him," He said, sounding almost nervous. "She said, 'kids shouldn't be confined in their clothing choices' or something, so it got me to thinking. And if you ever even _dare_ mention that I was definitely thinking about this for the past two weeks and I saved some extra funds for these anywhere in public, I'll kill you on the spot, and I won't even regret it."

Yu smirks and says lowly, "Did you get lacy panties?"

Yosuke blushes up to his roots, and stammers out something that's supposed to resemble a response, but instead he unballs one of his fists, holding a pair of sinfully, pure white, lacy unmentionables out. "I _ordered_ these because, well, um—just don't laugh when I put them on!"

"Why would I do that?" Yu is one hundred percent serious. "I'm already a little, shall we say, hot under the collar."

Yosuke's still blushing like a little kid embarrassed by his parent's antics at a social function, but he hurriedly gathered his outfit and went to the bathroom to change. When he returns, Yu has changed too, and the brunette shuffles around uncomfortably in his clothing, still as red as a beet. When his calloused, tan fingers tug at the fabric of the skirt, Yu cannot help but feel heat pass through him. "D-don't stare so hard!" He barely looks up to take the other male in, looking elegant and long-limbed in the clothes that make him look like a young businesswoman. "You're making me nervous."

"Mmm," His boyfriend can hardly wait. "You tied your hair up. It's getting really long."

Since his haircut the previous year, Inoue had said that he would market well with longer hair too, so he'd followed her direction, and let it grow out, evening it every week at a salon. She liked the texture, but not the layers. Now, when his hair was loose, it hung just below his shoulders, but unless he went out of his way to straighten it, his hair flared out and poofed out at odd angles. So now, it was straying from the ponytail in all directions, and parts of his auburn locks hung around his reddened face.

"Yeah. Y'know, you look more comfortable than I would've, uh, expected," Yu, in his blouse, stands in front of the couch, stockings pulled over his legs, the skirt moving a little as he moved, and the blouse loose around his chest and tight everywhere else. But he is confident, regardless of how he looks.

"I s'pose," The silver-haired teen licks his lips and smirks, getting close to his flustered significant other. "I like the skirt," He slips his long fingers behind the fidgeting brunette's guard and traces slow circles around his groin, feeling the other male's curly hair and the lacy underpants he's sporting. Yosuke just turns another shade darker.

The brunette yelps at his ministrations, and offers his exposed nape to Yu, who takes advantage of it. His blouse opens in the chest, and so his flesh is flush against that adorable, oversized cardigan, and he looks at it hanging from Yosuke's shoulder before closing his eyes and licking and biting his neck.

"Man, you weren't kidding about being impatient," Yosuke says, still overly warm and squirming in these clothes. "You like them?"

"I can't tell you how much," Yu replies happily, dragging his tongue from his adam's apple up to the brunette's chin and then to his lips, getting a shiver and an arch into his body for his efforts. "I don't want you to take them off."

"_Dude_, now I know you're doing this just to see me struggle," Yosuke whines a bit, giving him a look, but he can't help admiring the black bra Yu had apparently put on, and wondered where he'd gotten it. Guitarist's hands slip under the blouse and caress the paler, taller male's chest, and even though it's flat, Yu still responds when his nipples are properly teased. His ribcage strains against the delicate material, and this causes Yosuke to groan. "I can't even focus!"

"Shhh, it feels good," He moves one of Yosuke's hands to his lower half, guiding it under the folds of the dark skirt, and doing the same for him, feeling that white lace and the bulge pushing against the fabric. "Mmm, you're so big already."

"Sh-shut up!" The brunette refuses to admit that even putting these clothes on had gotten him aroused, so he'd become fully hard very quickly. Yu rubs his finger against him, and he bucks. "Don't—nnn_nnggh_—play with mee_ee_…"

"You'd make a sexy woman, Yosuke," Yu assures him, getting lube from somewhere like he'd been waiting for this moment all day, and then coming back to press fingers into his entrance. Yosuke looks uncomfortable from his position half-perched on Yu's knee, so they move to the couch, kicking the low table out of the way, before continuing.

The fabric is itchy against the brunette's member, so Yu flips it up against his abdomen instead, leaving his leaking staff hanging over the edge of that white lace. "Fast—too fast," He warns Yu as the gray-haired teen gets ready to finish him off, but Yu's already too far too gone. He comes all over his partner's face, but Yu takes it in stride. "Shit, dude—you alright?"

"M'fine," Yu assures him without a beat, working him back up and wiping his face on the sleeve of that nice blouse. "Look, you're even blushing down here."

"Don't point it out!" Yosuke turns redder than ever, and focuses his attention on those gray eyes, hungry and sharp. "Geez, dude, you're hornier than I thought. Not that I'm complaining."

"I can stop, if you want," Yu offers, but he's still touching his ass and moving to suck him off before the brunette stops him, and offers to suck him instead, knowing he must be a mess already.

"I'm good. I was just surprised, that's all," Yosuke insists, and snorts when he sees the cum all over those black underwear. "Your poker face knows no bounds."

"Getting better every day," The gray-haired man says, reaching for a tissue before Yosuke's hot little mouth descends on his cock. His tongue swirls around, and the brunette swallows him deep, careful not to brush his teeth against the member. After Yu's come back to full attention, and before he starts leaking, they start kissing, deep, tongues battling against each other at full-force, hair and skin sweaty and matted, the smell of sex heavy in the air between them. Breathless, they just keep latching on, and on, and holding each other, groping and clasping and unable to break apart. Yu preps Yosuke, and the brunette reaches for a condom on the desk behind him, and just when the gray-haired male is about to enter, he murmurs. "I love you," He whispers it against that tender olivine skin, against those ribs, and with one hand tangled in those orange-tinted auburn locks, meaning every syllable of the declaration. "I love you so fucking much."

"Shit, I love you too," Yosuke says, swearing, and he takes those staggered breaths as his taller partner slides in, and he gets vocal about his pleasure. He curses and clenches, but mostly moans. "Yu…_shit_, mmm—right there, man," He groans, neck curled back into the couch cushions, and fingers fisted in the oversized clothes he's dirtying. They go at it, and the brunette's balls clench just before he shoots off again. Catching his breath as Yu finishes himself off, he breathes out. He takes a few minutes to regulate himself, and then he laughs. "We made a damn mess. Shower, then we'll throw this stuff in the wash?"

"Yeah," Yu agrees, looking so much better than he had when the brunette had first come over. They stumble down the hall to the bathroom, giggling and breathless, still sharing kisses and affectionate gropes.

In the shower, they give each other blowjobs and hand jobs again, ejaculating across tiles, and swapping spit despite water pounding against them. Their skin is slick, and shines with a healthy glow, but they want to get out before the water can get cold, so they have to hurry. On their way out of the bathroom, they are changing back into sweats and t-shirts, folding these special clothes away. Yu goes back into the chamber of the bathroom to use the toilet. A few moments later, a knock comes at the door, so the brunette opens it, and finds someone he really hadn't wanted to run into any time soon.

"Shit," There are two males, staring at each other, in the doorway, at a house that neither of them lives in, and they say the same curse at the same time.

"Yosuke? What's the—" Yu stops asking mid-question, his hands dropping the towel he'd been using to dry his hands.

Adachi, looking irritable as always, stood there, clothes haphazardly worn, and a reddish blush dashed across his cheek a telltale sign that he and Dojima had been out earlier that evening.

Wondering why there's so much unexpected noise upstairs, Dojima clambers up and finds them all, his drunken stupor making his coordination worse, but his eyesight remained as good as always. "What're 'ou two doin' 'ere," He hiccupped, and the teenagers felt dread sink into their hearts.

Yu plugs his nose, and looks remarkably composed for someone who had been having oral sex less than ten minutes ago. "Uncle, you stink…were you out drinking again?"

"Oh, shaddup," Dojima scorns, rolling his eyes. "You can't tell me…whaddado."

"Only a lil'," Adachi is entirely unhelpful in supporting his uncle's case, and he hiccups before smirking that awful, slimy smirk. "Issee y'boys…beat us to the bathroom," He laughs at nothing, and the boys groan, hoping that neither of them would remember this in the morning. "Gonna make shurr I don't…pull those skissors—scisores—fuck—out on your uncle, kid?"

"I'd certainly like to make sure you didn't do anything so foolhardy, Adachi-san," Yu's glare is ice cold, and Yosuke shivers, not wanting to be on the other end of that look. "You know that I don't like you, nor do I approve of your relationship."

"I'mma let you in, on a sssseeecret, kid," Adachi slurs, sake heavy on his breath, and a deranged sort of look in his drunken, glazed expression. "Your uncle? H'can say…schwatever he wants, but…he likes'it. Ain't that right, Dojima-_san_?" The title is a mockery, but the other man stifles a giggle. "Makes him forget…all the bad stuff."

Dojima hiccups and giggles and slaps Adachi on the back. "Shaddup, we're not s'posed to talk 'bout that…s'bad, y'know. S'posed to say…our relat'ship is…wholesome and…all that."

"Well, s'never gonna be that way," Adachi slurs, kissing Dojima deeply and then slapping the ever-loving shit out of him, the slap dragging his long thumbnail against the older man's cheek, and making him bleed, albeit shallowly.

Yosuke has to hold Yu back from strangling him. "Calm down—you're gonna regret it if you beat them up while they're drunk!"

He struggles for another few moments, glaring and breathing heavily, before raising his voice at the younger detective-in-training. "Get out."

"Aww, Yu, scared for your dad, here? Oh wait—he s'not even your DAD!" The fist flies before the brunette can keep it back, but Adachi just keeps on laughing like nothing happened, and Dojima is sobering up rather quickly in the background, but his motor-functions aren't getting up to speed just yet. "Look at 'im—he's smilin', isn't he? Your uncle…he's got it baaaaad. And ev'rytime he ignores me…just makes it worseee, Yu-_kuuun_. But don't worry," He holds up his hands, and cradles his bruising jaw gingerly. "I'm goin'…you boys have, ha, fun."

Dojima, who had since fallen in the hallway, was left with two emotionally high-strung teenagers, and a bad situation. Yosuke was the first one to break the tension after the door closed and Adachi was gone. "I'll just…go make coffee."

"Thanks, Yosuke." Yu sits next to his uncle on the wooden floor, and watches to make sure the man isn't in any danger of being violently ill any time soon. "So, any explanation for all this?"

"Y're havin' your boyfriend over—why can't I have mine?" Dojima slurs. Feeling a headache coming on, he hangs his head between his thighs and tries to make the world stop spinning. "He makes me forget all the bad stuff."

"What could _possibly_ be so bad that you must have a relationship that endangers your wellbeing, every time you meet?" Yu lashes back, and his uncle leans over to grab him by the collar.

"That's non'your damn bus'ness!" Dojima barks out, but his own volume takes him back. Trying to calm himself down. "Shit, m'sorry. Work's been a fuckin' drag, and Nanako keeps asking me all these damn questions, and now you're chastisin' me…" Slumping back against the wall, his uncle sighs again. "I ain't cut out for this shit. Adachi…he doesn't ask me anythin'…just does what he wants. I know it ain't good…and my ignorin' him ain't helpin' nobody…but I can't seem to say the right words when I'm sober."

Yosuke returns with three coffee cups balanced precariously on a tray, one black, and two with cream, because they both like it that way. He sits on the stair two below theirs, and sits, listening carefully.

"Uncle, I'll be leaving soon," Yu says calmly, finally back to his usual mannerisms. "And the last thing I want is for things to be unresolved, with Nanako left in the dark as to why you and he are such a mess, and what your relationship truly is. Also, if you try to pretend you don't remember this in the morning, I'll tell you all over again, in front of her, so it's no use dodging this issue forever." The brunette sips at his coffee, silently agreeing, serving as moral support, although he knows Narukami does not need it. "I know now that there's probably nothing I can do to stop you seeing Adachi-san, but if you'd just let him in, I know he'd behave himself. I can see that lonely look in his eyes—he _wants_ to be treated like he's normal, like he's your family too, instead of someone you screw and then don't call until you want to get drunk and sleep with him again."

"And the more you snub him, the more he starts becoming who he was before he met you," Yosuke adds tentatively. "Not saying you guys are a perfect couple or anything, but at least before Yu found out, you guys balanced each other out pretty well."

"I agree," His nephew says, and his uncle sips at the coffee, forcing himself to take it all in. "I'm not saying it's gonna happen overnight, but…Adachi should be part of your family, if you're going to make him your lover. And Nanako deserves to know what's going on."

There's silence for a time while they all drink their coffee, and then Dojima speaks up again. "What if she hates me? What if…what if Adachi hurts her?"

"You won't let him," Yu warns with a glare. "I know you feel like he's uncontrollable, but he _listens_ to you, at the very least, and he likes Nanako. If you're serious about this, I refuse to let the subject drop."

Dojima throws the teenager a quick glare before going back to his coffee, feeling rather patronized. "…Alright."

"And if you have trouble with Nanako…you're her father. She's going to say she hates you from time to time. But you have to continue working out your issues, with or without me." Yu is entirely serious, and Yosuke gulps on behalf of Ryotaro Dojima.

They all pause again, drinking coffee in the middle of a Saturday night, but a few minutes after Yu's last sentence, they disperse. As Yosuke and Yu are going back to Narukami's room, freshly laundered, and with their women's clothing tucked under their arms, Dojima calls out again, still cradling the warm mug of coffee in his hands.

"…Thanks. You really know how to…drive a point home."

Yu nods a little before going into his room, and Yosuke breathes a sigh of relief when the door closes. "That was the craziest thing I think I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing."

His gray-haired boyfriend leans against him, and the brunette pulls him into a hug. Putting his arms around him, he speaks lowly. "I did the right thing, right?"

"Yeah, you did," Yosuke assures him, sifting through his fine silver hair and murmuring against his warm chest. After the short, quiet sobs have trailed off, the brunette moves to get his guitar, and lets the warm face of the other teenager press against his neck from behind as he strums soft, quiet cords to lull Yu to sleep.

x

The next few months are so much of a blur that what happens is almost unnoticeable. By the time graduation comes, it is a different season environmentally and mentally. Sometime after their late night chat, Dojima broke the ice and told his child about the entirety of his situation with Adachi. She didn't entirely understand, but was not upset, and only hoped that he would be happy. She said she didn't mind that the other man would be coming over more often, as long as they were not drunk so often, and he promised her so.

In the meantime, the teenagers had taken their finals, and the middle of March brought with it a change in the weather, and everyone's changes in location. Yu and Yosuke had, at various times while they were already in Tokyo for one reason or another, gone scouting for apartments, but were not entirely settled on a place yet. After their ceremony, where Narukami had given a brief speech, bringing many to tears, most notably his friends, who knew exactly what his words about the importance of relationships, youth, and family were founded on. The brunette and the silver-haired graduates continued their search more frequently, now that school was out, mostly because Yosuke had to swing by the studio for a few hours anyways, in his preparation to become a full-blown artist-slash-model.

Everyone tearfully says goodbye at graduation, even though they've already agreed to meet up again before summer's out. Chie and Akihiko discuss their future in criminal justice, and Yukiko's taking over the inn. Their underclassmen are sorry to see them go, but they say goodbye with style.

After March comes April, and as the underclassmen enter their final year at Yasogami, Yu and Yosuke stumble upon an apartment that is absolutely perfect. The layout is lovely, and with Yu's parents' budget as well as Yosuke's personal and parental funds, they can manage. Yosuke has sworn to be independent in the next year, and Yu hopes to be close, but as a full-time medical student, he is unsure how close he will be to his goal in the time. They move in, and Nanako smiles as they board the train, but cries quietly upon her return home. Adachi stands next to Dojima, slouched in his typical manner, but the smile on his face looks like it's getting a little closer to normal, and the girl is even holding hands with him.

Moving in entails hours of packing, lifting, unpacking, and later organizing. Their two-bedroom apartment is small and cramped, but it doesn't matter, because one room has a spare futon and less space, in case they feel the need for separation every once in a while, and the living area has space for his old couch, too.

With May comes the heat wave to the city, and Yu and Yosuke have begun settling in. Yosuke's pictures are coming out in magazines, and his Extended Playlist is soon to be compiled and pitched to the marketing section of the studio he records at, and Yu prepares for college by buying books, and taking as much part-time work as he can juggle and still have time for dinner with the brunette. One blessedly silent and unperturbed Sunday afternoon, a phone call comes to Yu's cell, and he contemplates ignoring it, cuddled up next to his boyfriend, who was dozing off in front of the television, but he figures it's better to at least see who it is.

"'Llo," Narukami answers through a yawn without properly checking the ID.

"Yu!" This voice is his mother, and he's startled to hear from her, so his eyes fly open. From the couch, Yosuke's waking up, interested. "Hey, babe—your dad and I just got back in town, and since we knew you'd made it back to Tokyo, we wanted to ask if you'd come to dinner with us!"

"Yes!" Yosuke sits up expectantly, hissing at him from the couch. "_Dude_, yes!"

"Is it alright if my partner comes?" Yu asks politely, stifling a laugh at the brunette's obvious excitement.

"Absolutely, kid! We're meeting at the place in two hours—I'll send you the address." Her son says thank you before ending the call, and trying to calm down his bouncing significant other.

"I cannot _wait_ to meet them—I have to greet my in-laws if I'm gonna be living with their son, whom I've deflowered already." They'd broken in their apartment with a semi-violent round of sex followed by a slow, languid lovemaking session, where Yu had to kiss Yosuke senseless to keep him from howling in pleasure in their moderately walled apartment complex. Of course, Yosuke got his revenge, and bucked into his partner rough and fast, making him beg for release, but he held it off for as long as he felt fitting.

Yu laughed. "Whatever you say, Yosuke." They spent the remaining time looking up directions and getting dressed accordingly—it was dressy casual—and they went to the train station together, happy for the thin crowds typical of Sunday afternoons.

Once they arrived at the place, spotting Yu's parents became quite easy—they were rather tan from their time abroad, even though their son had assumed they'd been somewhere rather cool. His mother was a tall woman, and his father even taller, and they had bright, perfectly straight, white teeth. Together, their family looked a bit like models, but with a proper air to them. Yosuke felt a bit intimidated, regardless. After Yu left his side to hug them and greet them, receiving his father's pat on the shoulder, and his mother's fingers fixing his hair, he turned back around and introduced him. "This is Yosuke Hanamura, my partner. We live together about fifteen minutes from here."

"Nice to meet you!" His chipper mother shook the brunette's hand easily. Her hair was dark, long, and wavy, and she pulled it up in a ponytail. "I'm Emi Narukami, and this is my husband, Touya." They shook hands before heading inside, and getting seated relatively quickly, for a weekend.

Once they'd been seated, they started exchanging information, catching up. It left Yosuke only chirping in, and listening more than anything else, but it wasn't bad. Yu's parents were interesting, and seeing his significant other all flustered in their presence, as they threatened to share his embarrassing stories, was priceless.

At some point after their food had come, they started inquiring about their daily lives. "Well, Yosuke generally goes to the recording studio and then one of his other jobs during the day, and I leave for work around the same time. Then we meet up at our place for dinner, and I study for school. I start back in a few months."

It is at this time when Yu's father, Touya, who had been mostly taciturn throughout dinner thus far, spoke up. "So then, you two have been sleeping together for a while now, correct?"

Yosuke and Yu exchange a look, and both of them feel the blood drain from their faces. The brunette stammers in response, "Is that, err, a problem, sir?"

"Answer the question," He looks sternly at his son, salt-and-pepper locks side-swept much like his son's, but his hair line is much closer to his scalp, and the hair around his ear is buzzed with a razor.

"Yes," Yu swallows dryly before answering, trying to look more confident than he felt at that moment in front of his father's belittling gaze. "For over a year now."

There's a tense moment that comes to pass before Mrs. Narukami gets them back to giggling, tossing some sort of joke around about television stars or the like, but just after they've just finished laughing without enthusiasm, Mr. Narukami cuts back in.

"I don't like the idea," The man heaves a weary sigh, but lightens up at last, much to the relief of everyone else at the table. "And I don't know you, Yosuke—honestly, you've grown and changed so much that I almost don't recognize you either, Yu—but the two of you are almost adults, and if you're so determined to stay together, I can't stop you. But Emi, let the boy talk. How're we supposed to get to know him if you do all the talking?" She pouts, and flicks him on the shoulder, but otherwise smiles, agreeing. Yu and Yosuke look happy not to be persecuted, but the brunette is then subject to a round of twenty questions about his life and family.

In this area, Yosuke has expertise, so he chats with the two of them amicably while Yu watches with a smile. He's chatting about things that make him light up, so the silver-haired young man is amused, and their food arriving doesn't stop Yosuke's chatter one bit. The conversation eventually dials down, so that Emi and his partner are the only ones truly working up a real talk, and Yu, as well as his father, only chip in when they are asked questions. The two bonded over a love of a jazz player, who was a hit in the eighties, as well as a blithe comment Yosuke had made about her son's popularity. They then proceeded to tease him about it together, and Yu groaned, trying to bury himself behind his food and drink. Even his father had to stifle a chuckle at that, until Emi had said he was exactly the same way.

They finished dinner after a couple of hours, and the Narukamis said goodbye to Yosuke and Yu in good humor, but the boys were thoroughly bushed after the endeavor. "Your mom's really pretty—I guess I can see where you get it from."

Yu looks briefly disgusted and teases him darkly, "If you start hitting on my mom, I'll make you regret it for the rest of your life."

"Geez, calm down! I'd never do that—I was just making a passing comment." The brunette defends himself. "Anyways, it was nice to finally meet them. You seem a lot like your dad…well, honestly, neither of them explained your weird sense of humor, but that's alright. It's all you."

"Gee, thanks," The other teen replies sarcastically, but a wry smile crosses his lips anyhow. "Good to see my puns don't go to waste."

Amber eyes roll, and they board the train in a hurry as it pulls up to the station. "Yeah, yeah. Speaking of meetings—we're having a celebration at the studio for my pre-release after a shoot around the weekend of my birthday. Any chance you can come with?"

Yu shakes his head and they both look sullen. "I've got work all weekend, and on that Sunday, I'm heading down to college for a tour and orientation and all that. You and I can celebrate when I get home, if you'd like?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Yosuke squeezes his hand for a moment and they smile a bit, letting go just before they get off of the train.

x

It is nearing the end of June, and the party is in full-force. Everywhere the brunette turns, there are big names in the business, including his friend from back in Inaba, but she doesn't stay long after they have finished taking pictures. "I've got a show tomorrow, so I've gotta get going—catch ya later, senpai!" Rise blows him a kiss, so he sticks his tongue out at her, very mature-like, and then she disappears around some corner.

Over the loud music, which is being dj'ed by a young man who works for the company's radio facilities, Inoue and Tanaka sweep Yosuke from man to man, introducing him as their new up-and-coming soloist. As he tells jokes and bows too deeply, they laugh, but not all of them take a shine to him. There are some people that are very happy and pleasant, and others that simply scowl and disapprove of his very existence. He tries not to let this bother him, but this proves very difficult. After the first couple of hours, most of the strictly business people leave, so the party loosens up.

Other idols, artists, and models come in around nine or ten, and a few had flitted around at the same time he had, but now they were the life of the party. They ordered drinks from a bar in the facility the studio had booked weeks ago, and moved all too fast for the city-boy that had become used to the country-life. Yosuke took a seat not too far away from the center, because he wanted to get out there, but this was surprisingly more exhausting than he'd counted on. He wanted to be home, lying on the couch, with Yu running his fingers through his slowly growing brown locks, hair finally loose from the scratchy hair tie Inoue-san had put in it.

There was a young woman with bronze skin, and she looked more like an athlete than a talent, but their company had to see to many niche markets, so he wouldn't have been surprised if she had been both. "You look bored and lonely," She said, and he looked up with a sardonic grin.

"Just a bit," Yosuke said, and his eyebrow rose when she handed him a drink under his nose. "I'm a minor, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Everyone's been talking about the new kid—Hanamura, right?" He nods, so she smiles. "Loosen up. Have a beer or two. You'll feel better. 'Sides, your manager over there—she's already getting' buzzed. Just trust me on this." He takes the bottle from her and says thank you, sipping gingerly at the drink at first. The brunette tries not to look disgusted, but his half-lurch makes her giggle. "It's alright. It'll take a while to get used to."

"What's your name?" He says, the heady scent of the alcohol both revolting and addicting as he took another, heartier swig of the stuff. "S'not fair you know mine and I don't know yours."

"Yuko," She says with a strange sort of smile across her dark face, eyes colored and decorated so that she looks like she's prepared for a shoot now, in a swimsuit, or perhaps in day clothes, with a smile and beach ball tucked under her arm. Because she's staring at him expectantly, he rushes to finish the beer, and the speed with which he'd emptied the bottle makes everything swim for a moment and the nineteen-year-old giggles. "Now you're catchin' the hang of things. Want another one?"

"Yeah," Yosuke replies dreamily, a big smile on his face that he has no control over. "Yeah, I do."

Yuko brings them both drinks—hers is some sort of cocktail that the brunette couldn't remember the name of, and he keeps drinking that same beer, only a little bit more slowly than his first, at the older girl's warning. He is rosy and more than tipsy, giggling and flirty and his hands move wildly with gestures as he speaks. When midnight approaches, and everyone is starting to dance or leave, the bronze beauty pulls him close and gyrates against him, and he moans back. They dance in a rather naughty fashion, hips and behinds moving in slow motion, and when twelve-thirty strikes, Yuko has become quite enraptured, so she drags him away through his haze, another beer glued to his hand, and manages to work them to a hotel nearby.

Yosuke is quite the diligent lover, even while drunk, and his kisses are deep and practiced—she'd been surprised, quite sure that he was a virgin. After they'd stumbled off of the elevator and into their room, she undressed him hurriedly.

Worried he was going to be sick as she took off his pants, she started to work him and he moaned in pleasure as she went at it. He didn't say much, for such a happy, talkative drunk, and she just continued flicking her tongue around his length, and he just kept making all the right noises. "Yuuu…" He groaned out what she'd believed was part of her name in a haze, face red and giggles giddy. "Y'r hair's so longggg," The brunette keeps smiling and giggling, and presses her head further down his shaft, and she stops her gag to take it hungrily.

She stops sucking him off after feeling his engorgement, and goes back to touching him. Her fingers tease his hair out of its' holding, and she practically throws the two of them onto the bed. "C'mon," She urges him, and he touches her for a moment before realizing something with another giggle.

"You wore…lotsa padding tonight, didn'ya?" Yosuke hiccups for a moment, smelling like booze, and the woman on top of him starts, not quite so drunk as he is, because she can hold her own.

As her pants come off, he seems startled, even though he'd seemed so eager just moments ago. "I dunno how to do this," He says in a panic, but his drunken stupor makes him even more uncoordinated than usual. _Virgin_, she thinks with a sinking feeling. _Guess even virgins can kiss like experts._

"I'll teach you," Yuko assures him with a smile, leaning down to kiss him, but even though he's touching her, he seems more tentative than just a typical virgin.

"No, st'p," He murmurs out, and then suddenly he's crying for some reason, and she thinks the world has turned against her for some reason. Not only is he an emotional drunk, he can't just pay attention to the erection he's _obviously_ sporting, and just learn to give in and pleasure a woman. "There's…som'one else," He breathes out exhaustedly, and she huffs, trying to continue, but realizing that he's not just making some excuse, she sighs, and puts her bra back on. "I need to get home," He muddles that sentence out, but he's so drunk that the words all blend together.

Yuko gets off of him entirely, and walks him gingerly to the restroom, where he promptly vomits into the toilet before searching for his underwear, and lying back down on the bed. Even though they don't do anything else, there's no way she can just let him go home in this state, and she'd already paid for the room, so there's no use in being in a rush.

She doesn't sleep much, and wakes long before her guest, who rises around the same time the sun does, in a panic. He probably has the worst headache of his virginal nineteen-year-old life, and everything hurts like hell, and he might throw up again. "Shit…we didn't…_do_ anything, did we?" Yosuke asks, desperately hoping the answer does not accompany the obvious situation.

"No," Yuko assures him with a sigh, looking tired, sitting on the veranda of the hotel. "Honestly, I tried to ride you, but you weren't having any of it. You kept saying there was someone else, and, well, I'm not a cruel person."

He still looked worried. "We _seriously_ didn't do anything? I didn't hurt you, or drag you here or something equally stupid, right?"

She has to giggle at him, if only to take the edge off—he's hilarious, though. "No. I mean, I gave you sort of a blowjob, but it wasn't one worth writing home about. We were both drunk, and you needed to sleep it off. Besides, if anything, I dragged _you_, virgin-boy." The nickname obviously stings him, but he grumbles something, and she continues. "Better get on home. Your girl's not gonna be real happy to hear you stayed out all night."

The brunette was in a rush to throw his clothes back on, and thanked her before running out the door. Dialing a familiar number, he could only hope that Yu hadn't gotten on the train yet this morning.

"H'llo," Yu sounded bleary, so that was a negative.

"Yu!" Yosuke sounded terrible, nasally and exhausted and felt like a complete idiot. There was no way that his partner would've gone and gotten himself in this situation, and he felt worse just thinking about that. "I'm the stupidest person in the universe, and I hope you'll just hear me out without hanging up."

"Alright," His boyfriend answered through a yawn, jilted awake by concern for the brunette. "What's the matter?"

"Some chick, at the party—well, she tried to sleep with me, and, I, well—I said no! I mean, she was really nice, and pretty, but she got me all drunk off of this _nasty _beer—beer is nasty, Yu, don't try it!—and took me back to some hotel, but she said I wouldn't sleep with her because I kept saying no, or something. I don't remember anything, but, well, I don't think she was lying." There's a pause on the other end of the line. "Look, I'm really sorry—I'm _so stupid_, and I _know_ I shouldn't have gotten drunk or anything at all, but—"

"But you didn't sleep with her," Yu says, with a sigh, probably pinching the bridge of his nose on the other side. "I mean, I obviously can't approve of your decisions last night, but I wasn't there…and, well, thanks for telling me the truth."

There's another pause before the brunette says something again. "You're pissed, aren't you?"

"A little," The silver-haired male replies, but his voice is level. "But let's talk about it later, okay?"

"Yeah," Yosuke says before hanging up, and slumping against the wall of the hotel lobby. He cradles his head with his palm, and winces at the major headache throbbing at his temple before he looks for the wallet in his pants, and hurries to the station.

By the time he arrives back at their apartment, Yu's cooking breakfast, but they don't talk much. Where it would typically be a comfortable silence, it is now unusually awkward, and when the taller of the two leaves for work, Yosuke hardly has it in him to keep the food down, so he throws up again, and then lies on the couch, dozing the rest of his hangover off before he has work that evening.

The two don't meet again until much later that evening, and Yosuke's heart is filled with dread, but he's taken aspirin, worked, and drank water to rehydrate, so he feels much more prepared for the potential break-up than he might've this morning. Of course, the dread is still eating him alive, and he hates what he's done to Yu, but he can only wait and see.

As Yu stands in the kitchen, cooking dinner, he starts talking to the brunette, and there is no other media on in the house, so it is despairingly silent, save for the quiet sizzle of the pan on the stovetop. "So," Yu begins, sliding vegetables he'd chopped into the oiled, hot pan. "What happened?"

"I went to the party, and this girl kept bringing me beers, telling me that I needed to lighten up or something. I don't remember a lot of it, but at some point she took me to a hotel, but she said I only kissed her and something else, but I definitely didn't sleep with her." His tone is apologetic the whole time, and the brunette honestly wants to crawl into a hole and die. "I know it was stupid—really, I _do_. And I can't even begin to say sorry enough times."

Yu sighs, barely noticeable over the food cooking in front of him. "It was _incredibly_ stupid, but you were drunk. I'm happy that you stopped at all."

After a break, Yosuke said, in a quiet voice, "Are you…breaking up with me?"

Yu turned around, eyes wide and brows raised. "Did you want me to?"

"No!" The brunette blurted out quickly. "I wanted to tell you quickly so that you knew I was telling the truth and I felt like a moron! Honestly, I wish I had been drunk with you. I've never been the type of sleazeball to sleep with some girl I just met, and I'm ashamed that last night even happened." He flushed darkly and scoffed. "It's just, times like this, I think to myself, Yu's just, too good for me, and I wonder why you'd ever just…put up with such a _moron,_" Yosuke feels tears prick at his eyes, but he doesn't want to cry, and let that influence the moment. "I'm sorry."

Hearing the click of the heat turning off, Yosuke heard footsteps get close. "You were drunk…I was just…frustrated, is all. It was just one mistake. Just…don't do it again."

Finally crying into his shoulder, feeling like an idiot all over again, Yosuke kept murmuring. "I'm so sorry…"

"You're not an idiot, Yosuke—drunken people do stupid things, because their cognitive thinking is hindered. Besides, you're not _supposed_ to drink until you're twenty, remember?"

"I know," He whines through a sob, bony fingers digging into Yu's back. "I'b sowwy." Sniffling back snot, he keeps clinging on, and Yu just smiles forlornly, rubbing circles into his back. "And y're wronb…I'b dumb…y'd nebber do somefin that dumb!"

"It was just one time, Yosuke. Look, I'm not even upset—you're upset enough for the both of us," Yu hushed him, petting his hair and continuing the circular motions. "We're gonna be okay, I promise."

"Y'probise?" He sniffles again, eyes red and puffy from tears. The silver-haired young man held out his right hand, and cuffed the pinky of the brunette's right hand, and said the words that were a custom for not breaking a pact.

"I _promise_," Yu said, and patted Yosuke before getting him off. "Now, let me make dinner, so we can eat and work on getting back to our normal lives."

The brunette didn't know what he'd done to get such a forgiving boyfriend, but he swore to himself that he would never drink without someone he trusted in the room, and certainly no more until he was twenty, refusing to take Yu's faith in him for granted.


	4. Tightrope

A/N: Oh gosh, it took me actually forever to crank this chapter out. Apologies, lovelies! I'll try to have the next chapter out a little bit sooner. School's been absolutely destroying all of my free time, I swear. I hope you guys enjoy! :)

(PS: Please feel free to point out any mistakes! I wrote a lot of this while it was very late, and I'll be editing as much as I can in my free time, so I'd love to hear anything I might've missed!)

* * *

_**Vice**_

* * *

"Some things are better than sex, and some are worse, but there's nothing exactly like it."

-W.C. Fields

* * *

September rolls around, and with the turn in seasons comes the transition, for Yu, anyways, from work to school. His employers tell him truthfully that he's welcome back at any time, and will work his schedule into something manageable, knowing that he's a student, and also a fantastic worker. Of course, this also means that Yosuke sees less of Yu when he comes home from the middle of either a recording, a jam session with a lyricist and perhaps a drummer, or a photo shoot, at mid-day, and they run into each other more when the city has turned on all of its' lights and closes up business for the day.

They end up sharing time together at the dinner table and in bed, but they're too tired to have sex every day. The brunette often crooned over his partner's cooking ability, and refused to wait patiently for the food to cool off, and instead blew on it and then shoved it into his mouth. Yu reprimanded him, but Yosuke just couldn't stop.

Near the middle of the month, he'd been preparing to go out with Inoue-san, and happened to have weighed himself in the morning, and found that he'd picked up a couple of pounds, and his stomach was just a little bit squishier than it was firm. Groaning, he hung his head. Yu came into the bathroom, yawning, looking just as lean and fit as always. Apparently, all that running around campus had balanced him out, and Yosuke had been spending so much time at the studio that he hadn't had time to get into a routine at the gym. His taller boyfriend came behind and embraced him, long strands of silver hair tickling the shorter male's neck.

Yu noticed Yosuke tensing up as he kissed at his shoulders, and looked concerned in the mirror's reflection. "What's the matter?"

"S'nothing," The brunette grumbled under his breath, shrugging off the silver-haired young man's embrace nervously. "Just picked up a couple pounds. I know I shouldn't be so worried about it, but I can't help it."

Yu put on his best smirk, pinched his lover's barely swollen abdomen, and laughed when the brunette jumped up and yelped, flushing red. "Well, it looks good on you. You were always complaining about being a beanpole. You could stand to pick up a few more."

"Stop teasing me," He said quietly, slapping Yu's wandering hands off and trying to finish his morning routine. He wanted to hurry and put a shirt on so that he couldn't see it and continue mocking him. "I've gotta lay off your croquettes…ugh, just talking about it sounds awful."

"I'm serious," Yu said, sounding endearing, and Yosuke felt that sick feeling of panic crawl up his throat. "I'm not going to be upset if you pick up a few pounds. No matter what, it's still you."

"You're not making me feel any better. Inoue-san's gonna bitch my ear off." He squirmed and sighed, wishing he felt as confident about it as his boyfriend did. They'd been through a series of ups and downs since the past summer, but after the air cleared from Yosuke's mishap, they'd only become more loving towards each other, in the few hours they got to spend together. "Guess I'll start doing organized aerobics again, if I can find a place that offers the course I used to do, near here."

"Yosuke, being healthy is important and I'm behind you one-hundred percent, but there's no need to feel pressured or anything. You still look great." Yosuke flushed and ducked his head back into the bedroom, throwing clothes on.

"It's almost like you like this stupid little pudge. Please tell me this isn't going to be like that time you were obsessed with my five-o'clock shadow." There had been a three-day window where Yosuke had come home from a four-day event with Inoue and Tanaka, with little to no sleep for the nights he'd been out. During that time, he'd crashed out and recovered, and was too lazy to shave. He'd woken on the second day to find Yu playing with his tangled hair and lazily dragging his fingers across the stubble. On the morning of the third day, when he was fully awake, he asked him what he'd been doing it for, and Yu had replied that he'd never seen his partner so unkempt, and it ultimately made him rather aroused. Thus his three-day reprieve was broken with a long and rowdy bout of sex, wherein Yosuke was topped from the bottom, and the brunette's face was stroked until it was raw and red, and Yu was seemingly satisfied.

"I'm just saying, it's not something to feel insecure about. Your ass looks _great_." Some of the weight the brunette had gained had gone right to his rear, and did appropriately fill out his jeans. Yosuke tossed a pillow at Yu's head, who just laughed it off, before finishing brushing his teeth and getting dressed too. "Hey, be careful today. If you're gonna go to the gym, I'll start dinner a little later."

"I'll try to be on time," Yosuke slid his sneakers on and hurried out of the door. "Later!"

Yu hurried to get dressed and leave shortly after his significant other, not wanting to be late for school. On his commute, he thought about several things, mostly what Yosuke might look like, over the years. The brunette would probably have rosy cheeks, and his ass would fill out first. Then his legs would get less springy, and maybe more muscled, if he worked them into shape. When they were much older, he'd sallow back out into all skin and bones, but his wrinkled smile would be as bright as the one stretched across his soft, rosy little chubby cheeks.

The silver-haired young man groaned into his backpack and tried to will thoughts of his perpetually sexy other away, to focus on his day's tasks. He decided to text a schoolmate of his to help time on the train and bus pass more quickly.

Sometime at a point in his school adventure, he sat back and contemplated things in general. He'd gotten over being upset with Yosuke's blunder rather quickly, but it had made him think. He wondered if the brunette had desired a woman the whole time…but when he'd asked, to clear the air in the few days after the smaller male's confession, he'd admitted that he'd thought about it once or twice, but would never have done such a thing while in a committed relationship, had he not been under the influence. Yosuke loved Yu, and he hated himself for messing things up, but they seemed to be moving on swiftly, regardless. Yu hated to be hung up on the past, so he had decided to let it be. Still, it hurt his pride to think that Yosuke had been thinking about it, even once, and even with alcohol addling his thoughts.

It wasn't fair to judge him based on those criteria, so the silver-haired college student deemed to focus on the things he loved and appreciated about his boyfriend instead of letting that cloud loom over all of his thoughts. Yosuke was gentle, and loving, and almost hypersensitive to Yu's feelings, in the wake of his slip-up. They were getting back to normal at a regular pace, but Yu, in part, felt that their sex life getting duller may have contributed to Yosuke's thoughts wandering.

He thought of all the ways he could spice things up without getting too risqué, but felt they'd already tested all of those methods before. Even as his first lecture started, pounding information into his skull, he was still half-concerned with the issue. When he was called upon, he answered correctly, despite his multitasking, and a classmate looked impressed, for his dreamy look had been fairly obvious.

Near the end of his second class of the day, he found an answer that would thoroughly satisfy himself, and make Yosuke so embarrassed that he'd be forced to think about it for the rest of his busy week.

After class, he stopped to clarify a question with one of his professors, and dropped an application off for his concentration with the dean of Medical Sciences at his school.

Just when he'd been headed home, for once having the afternoon off from work, he was stopped by a young woman in his social sciences class, who looked nervous and skeptical about approaching him. "Can I help you?" Yu finally offered, upon seeing her struggle to start the conversation for such a time.

"M-Me?" The girl was clutching a yellow bag in one hand, and a stack of papers in the other. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment, and being pointed out had apparently startled her very much. "I, err, I didn't mean to stare!"

He couldn't help but snicker a little bit. She was truly scared to approach him for some reason. "It's alright—I don't bite or anything," Adjusting his bag over his shoulders, he dedicated himself to the conversation. "What's your name?"

"Oh, I'm, uh, my name is A-Ayane." She seemed to be stumbling, but otherwise composed. Now that she hadn't been called out from her hiding spot, she was simply acting like a shy student. "I had just noticed that you were, um, holding onto that in math class." Yu looked down to his bag, which held a keychain Yosuke had left there. They'd gone to some ceramics store weeks ago, where you could make your own casts of things for keychains, and the brunette had often doodling something of a trademark. His boyfriend had asked what it was (it looked like a circle with a saw-toothed smile), and the brunette had replied that it was something of a frog head, and he liked scribbling it on things right after the kanji for his name. "What is that?"

"It's an original—handmade. My partner calls it Jiraiya," Yu answers benignly, trying to ease her nerves. She starts to perk up, and her eyes light up. "Do you like it?"

"Yeah—it reminds me of an anime," She giggles a little bit, and it starts him to laughing just the same. "She must be quite an adorable person."

He thinks of Yosuke's tongue flicked out of the side of his mouth, just before he winks, and holds a green-stained hand up with v for victory, and he can't help but agree. "They're certainly interesting."

"Sorry, I'd been stalling…" She rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "I'd love to get one, if she ever makes another one! But I was wondering, if, um, you could explain something from our History course really quickly. You answered so well. I heard you did phenomenally on the entrance exam."

"Rumors will fly, no matter where you are," Yu rolls his eyes and continues, regardless. "But sure, if I can, I'd be happy to help."

For the next ten to twenty minutes, they talk about varying points in Western and Eastern history, making sure they touch on the basics Ayane had no grasp over. At some points, they drifted on about popular idols and the like, and Yu was grateful that he listened to Yosuke's idle chatter about them, so that he could keep up with the times. Eventually, they steered entirely away from school and started talking about wanting pets, and not being allowed to have them at their respective apartments.

The silver-haired young man glanced at the clock about an hour before he needed to get home, and told his new friend that he'd have to go, because the groceries and the train wouldn't wait for him. They exchanged mail addresses, and then Yu headed on his errands before going home. He kept formulating his evening plans, feeling more energetic than he had in weeks. There were no tests coming up soon, his partner didn't have any parties to attend, and dinner was going to be an event for just the two of them. It would be the last time they had some time alone anyhow, because their friends were supposed to be coming this weekend, and they had work in the interim.

He turned on the news, and was surprised to hear Inaba come up. While standing at the stove, he decided to call and check in on his cousin and uncle, pleasantly surprised to hear Adachi had been coming over for dinner with them several nights of the week, and Nanako was warming to his strange ways. The younger man his uncle was seeing, despite the constant danger to his mental and physical person, seemed to have been lightening up, and even joined Nanako on walks, and got more sleep. According to the older detective, that second fact was helping him more than anything else—his insomnia only added fuel to the insane fire, and now that he slept, even if it was in small spurts, he seemed to process things in a more normal fashion.

"Hello, big bro?" Nanako's voice was tinny over the receiver, and he couldn't help smiling into it. He replied that yes, it was him, and she brightened immediately. "Hey! I haven't heard from you in a couple days. How've you been?"

"I've been pretty busy, what with school and all. I met someone new in one of my classes. How about you? Are you still studying and eating properly, Nanako?" He asked, even as his pot started sizzling, knowing well that Dojima knew about as much as Chie did about cooking. For a moment, he wondered if it was a police-mentality thing, but shook it from his head.

"Yeah! I've been learning how to cook more complicated stuff as I get older, but it turns out Adachi-san knows how to make boxed lunches!" This threw Yu for a loop, but in a weird sort of way, it made sense. Cooking was a bit destructive, albeit therapeutic, and he could somehow envision the man standing in a kitchen full of carcasses and sizzling oil where he'd pan-fry their meat. The thought made his stomach curl, so he veered away from it and tried to cook his own food to perfection.

"I hope you've been careful. And always cooking with adult supervision, I hope?"

"Of course!" She was such a good kid, and he smiled just thinking about her. "I'm excited to come and visit you soon, big bro. Dad says to be careful, though—he said you never know what you'd find in an apartment inhabited by college kids. I'm not too sure what he was trying to imply, though." Yu notices that Nanako's picked up some advanced vocabulary, no doubt from the younger detective.

"You know as well as I do I keep a cleaner home than uncle," Her laughter signaled that she agreed with him. "I'm excited to see you too." The two of them kept talking about school and food for a few more minutes, before he heard the voice of his mother's brother in the background, asking to speak to him. Very briefly, they exchanged pleasantries, and Adachi even came over the speaker for a moment. After another five minutes or so on the phone with them had elapsed, and his food was just about finished, he heard the door creak open, and Yosuke called that he was back, so Yu bid them a good even before hanging up.

"Hey," Yosuke sounded a bit breathless, and looked a bit damp. He was wearing a pair of short shorts, his tan legs slick with sweat, and dark brown hair was pressed down against his skin there. "Smells like I made it just on time. Should I go take a quick shower?"

"You're fine," Yu had hoped he wouldn't rush off to the bathroom—the musty smell he garnered after he'd had time to cool down was strangely alluring, but he tried not to tell Yosuke about it often, because the brunette found it weird, and he was insecure about his image most of the time, regardless of how often his silver-haired partner told him he looked great. "Let's go ahead, while it's hot." Yu turned off the heat and plated the food he'd been cooking, and the brunette hummed happily, flopping onto his cushion at the living room table. Yosuke tugged the collar of his sweatshirt open to wave himself some air.

"Man, I'm so out of shape," Yosuke replied with a distressed tone, letting a groan out from the back of his throat. "Smells good…mmm. Once again, you've outdone yourself!"

Yu laughed a bit and joined him, hands full with the tray holding dishes of steaming-hot food. Once he'd taken a seat, he spoke to his boyfriend once again. "You flatterer. What did Inoue-san say?"

The brunette scoffed and parted his chopsticks, picking something up to blow on it before shoving it into his mouth. "She said five pounds here and there is likely to pop up, but I was never a big swimsuit model or anything, and as long as I didn't pick up too much more weight, she didn't really care. She was real supportive about it."

"That's good," Yu silently thanked his manager. "So, when's the record coming on the radio again?"

"Next week!" Yosuke beamed suddenly, face lighting up like a room full of precious gems touched by sunshine. "Oh man, I'm so pumped! Inoue-san and Tanaka pulled a deal with one of the biggest radio stations in the city—the one you helped me write is the one we're putting out first. The cd's gonna come out around the same time." His words were mumbled by food, and interrupted by a short sneeze, but after he sniffled, he went right back to ranting about it. "I'm sorta nervous, but Inoue said not to worry…I can't help it. It's like, Yosuke's big debut!"

Seeing his childish excitement really made Yu want to laugh and giggle and smile beside him. If his hands hadn't been busy with a dish and chopsticks, he might've just slid over to the brunette's side of the low table and started to pet his hair, encouraging him when he opened those big, amber eyes, silently asking if it was okay to keep rambling on and on about things the silver-haired academic didn't understand, and Yu would nod quietly and just let him talk, not even needing to do anything sexual—it was satisfying just to spend time like that, until they fell asleep. Of course, it was nice to have sex just the same, but there was a balance they were getting closer and closer to achieving, the older they got. After all, next year, they would both be twenty. Sometimes, the brunette's talks were about idols and video games, and sometimes they were whimsical rants about work and his future, his disbelief that everything he was experiencing was real sometimes swallowing him whole. Other times, he spoke on the topic of piercings and tattoos. Yu didn't really mind what he wanted to do, and he engaged in their conversations in his usual quiet and patient manner, even when Yosuke got up in arms about some thing or another.

Tonight, their dinner topic was about their friends and what they were up to. Yu told the brunette about the quiet girl who liked the keychain he'd designed, and Yosuke got all puffed up about that. "Of course! What else would you expect from me?" Yosuke rubbed under his nose and continued. "I mean, it was pretty stupid of her to like that dumb thing, but hey, if people like it, who cares?"

Yu rolled his eyes. Yosuke could be a bit crass and careless in his speech, but he was so used to it by now that it just washed over him. He was an endless well of contradictory phrases, but more often than not, Yu just let his speeches fall over him, and corrected him only when he felt Yosuke was being more than simply harmless in their living room.

The radio was on in the background, playing the big hits of the month, but they mostly didn't pay attention. After dinner was finished, the college student went to the sink, to rinse everything out, but came back to put his plan into motion, silver eyes glinting. "Yosuke, you busy tomorrow?" It was a pretty typical question, but when the brunette stopped in the doorway to turn around at him, they both knew what it's loaded intent was.

"I can't take a shower first?" He hated the idea of smelling bad in bed, and when Yu shook his head, he rolled his eyes and hung his head. "If you say one word about how nasty I smell, I'm going to fall asleep with your dick in my mouth."

His silver-haired partner grimaced at the thought, but knew no such thing would be happening. "Wouldn't dream of it," Long legs sauntered to meet his nearly barelegged partner. They started with a slow, nearly chaste kiss, but Yosuke was feeling particularly grabby this evening. His large, calloused fingers went around Yu's ass and waist quickly, while cool, pale hands slipped under his hoodie and felt freshly dried skin. The taller male disconnected his lips from the brunette's, to swirl his tongue on the salty nape of his other, earning a shudder and a half-jerk from his efforts. He'd only been doing it for a moment before Yosuke retaliated, and went to reach for his crotch, hurrying him to discourage him from doing that, but Yu stopped his advance and spoke softly in the shorter male's skin. "Let's go to bed. I want to treat you right tonight."

"Such a gentleman," Yosuke said, even as his skin rose from the motions of Yu's tongue. He wished suddenly it didn't feel ticklish in some places and arousing in others, because when Yu got in this sort of mood, there was just no stopping his lengthy foreplay. The brunette watched and grabbed and mostly felt, as Yu's tongue went all across his body. He wasn't sure what was so pleasing to his partner about tasting him when he was gross like this, but it wasn't the first time he'd taken his sweet time appreciating his body after he'd come back from the gym. There was something slightly different this time—he kept clasping the slack part of his gut and clasping his ass in his hands more tightly than usual. Yosuke flushed bright red, and pried Yu's lips from his skin for a moment. "What're you doing, dude?"

"I told you it suited you—I wanted to show you so," Yu replied calmly, despite Yosuke's sputtering and attempts to bat him away from doing that, albeit feebly. "Shh, just let me do it." Yosuke squirmed and went rigid until Yu continued his explorations, worshipping his body. He traced the outline of his plump ass, poking and trailing spidery fingers down those less respectable parts of him, and Yosuke could do nothing more than fist his hands in Yu's silvery locks and arch off of the mattress, wishing Yu would hurry up and touch him properly, or otherwise let him reverse their situations. Then again, the taller male wouldn't have been half as insecure about his body. His skin was turning pink from being lavished in such a manner, and finally the brunette could no longer stand it.

He flipped the two of them over, and took Yu's member in palm, seeing the erection already starting to form and pushing it to fruition. "You bastard," He sank his teeth into Yu's nape and tried to will his embarrassment away. "When you focus on my fat like that, it only makes it that much worse." He bit Yu's collarbone, as if to punctuate his dissent, taking a moment to make sure his amber glare connected with those steely, calm orbs.

"I think it's gorgeous," He pinched his abdomen and then rubbed his ass, making the brunette yelp. "Think of it as filling out."

"Gross," Yosuke answered back, guiding Yu's wandering hand from the soft skin of his behind to the puckered opening. "If you open your mouth one more time, I can't promise you this hard on'll be stayin' around."

"Mm, don't tempt me," Yu said momentarily, making a pleased noise as Yosuke's fingers traced the sensitive skin between his thighs. His eyes rolled back for a second, and then the silver-haired young man remembered that he'd brought something today. He pulled away from his lover for a just a short while, and came back with some half-melted chocolates.

"This is, by far, the corniest thing you've done in a long time," The brunette couldn't help smiling and laughing, because he was a little bit ticklish. "Chocolates, man? That seems like something you only see in soaps."

"But I wanted you to know I do some things that make me feel a little insecure too. I've picked up a little weight too, but I'm splurging this evening." His left hand was covered in chocolate, and his right was continuing to stretch Yosuke, but there was no big affair between the two of them. Yosuke, despite all his protests, seemed to be loosening up now, and if Yu was messing around with his stretched skin now, it didn't seem to hold the same weight of panic as before, because his pleasure was fogging his senses. Tan hands grasped pale shoulders and moaned, sounding greedy and stopping a half-yell from crawling out of his throat, as they were prone to do.

"Ahhhh_hh_," Yosuke arched into his touches, and his appreciative noise told the silver-haired young man that he was doing something right, so he kept grinning and sucking and swirling chocolates around that tan chest, urging more frantic pants from his auburn-haired partner. "_Shit_, yess_ss_."

"Told you," Yu murmured into the brunette's chest, pushing fingers in and out at the pace he knew Yosuke was fond of, getting groans and grunts and other pleased noises for his effort. Dragging the fingers of his other hand around the brunette's abdomen, he started teasing. "C'mon, you want it, right?"

"Fuck _you_," Yosuke half-grunts and half-moans, just as the digit of his partner's hand hits his sweet spot again. "Stop groping me for ten seconds and hurry things up."

"Why? This is fun," Yu whispered, but reached for the lubricant, regardless. He licked another piece of half-melted chocolate from Yosuke's chest, deliberately lurking around one nipple longer than the other. His teeth scraped sensitive skin, and he removed his fingers before coaching the tanner of the two's trembling hands to his own member. "C'mon—if you want me to hurry up, you have to put the condom on."

"You're not even…trying to play fair," Yosuke managed breathlessly, sweat beading on his temple and slipping down his cheeks. "I can't see…and I know damn well…you're not gonna stop…with the chocolate…to let me put it on…"

"Hmm, glad you know me so well," Yu dips a hand in to his chocolate supply, and curves a spiral from the brunette's jutting hips, to his chest, to his navel, and laps it up carefully, despite Yosuke's squirming and movement to try and put the condom on his partner, while he was doing all of this. He manages, with difficulty, and tugs hard, with a fistful of Yu's hair, to pull his head back from his abdomen, forcing gray eyes to look into brown ones, both of them hazy with lust.

"So now what's your excuse?" Yosuke taunts quietly, roughly maneuvering their lips together, all the while cognizant of the chocolate and sweat mingling together on his skin. Yu feels the pressure of his lover in their battle, breathless, slick, and powerful. Deciding to comply with the brunette's wishes and pace, he settles his member against his back, even though Yosuke's bruising kiss is halfway to choking him. They pull apart and pant, and he looks for the okay Yosuke's practically screaming at him, before he slides in, slowly. "Oh no you don't," The brunette refuses to let this be a slow comfortable screw, and lurches underneath the gray-haired young man, hips bucking, earning crossed gray eyes and loud moan for his efforts. "I asked you to _fuck me_."

"Yosuke," He huffs out, lured into his pace, and unable to quite get his breathing at the right pace again, while Yosuke speeds up, bucking up and moving himself at a rhythm he'll expect Yu to pick up at any second. "_Yosuke_," He can't say anything else because he's trying to grasp that slick, tan skin and catch up with him, and they're not quite moving in or out of unison, but he can feel the sticky beads of cum leaking out of the brunette's member.

"C'mon," Yosuke murmurs, nails digging into the small of his partner's back. "No more games." As if he's pushed a switch, Yu slides into him, a little bit rough, all the way to his base, and his eyes roll back, feeling good. "That's it…keep going…" Yu suddenly loses himself, gasping, pushing in and out, fast, jarring, and he and the brunette are bucking, noisy, and he doesn't know whether he's hurting him or not but those cries of pleasure seem to keep him going. He pushes up Yosuke's leg even further, slamming into him, hips rolling and locking and fluid.

Yu suddenly can't focus on anything, and before he knows it, they've moved all over the place. Yosuke's been on top of him, to the side, halfway off the bed, bent over himself (he vaguely thinks to himself that despite having picked up some weight, he certainly hasn't lost any flexibility), and he only comes back to himself when he realizes that the brunette's on the verge of passing out, and the two of them are covered in filled condoms, sweat, and dirty laundry.

"Did I hurt you?" He finally gets the chance to ask, now that they've finished their romp for the evening.

"Nah," Yosuke answers sleepily. "I didn't know you had it in ya. That might've been the craziest thing we've done in a while." He says nothing as Yu gets up, and when he returns with an ice pack, he's eternally grateful. "I'm gonna be feeling that one for a while."

"Sorry," Yu does feel abashed for letting go, but deep brown eyes assure him that it was okay as he smiles and responds. "I'm gonna clean this mess up. You just relax for a while, alright?"

"I'm fine. I wouldn't have asked you to do it if I couldn't handle it," Yosuke replies lazily, pressing the pack against his back before standing up and helping the silver-haired male out. "We both made the mess. 'Sides, if I help, you'll come to bed sooner, right?"

Sighing like he'd expected this response, Narukami shoos Yosuke out of the bedroom, and tells him to hop in the shower, so he can relax with the ice pack and then go to sleep. The brunette reluctantly listens, grumbling under his breath the whole time, but it gives Yu the time to throw the condoms in the trash, wipe down the things they'd gotten messy, and change the sheets, throwing the other set into the washing machine. He'd hang them out to dry in the morning.

Yosuke comes out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, hair freshly washed, and is wearing a pair of sweatpants that aren't quite long enough and a shirt that has a hood on it, white and orange, two colors he is fond of sporting. "I know I've said it before, but you clean up like a freakin' monster. I couldn't have been in the bathroom more than fifteen minutes." The ice pack has returned to his lower back, and he grinned before carefully lying down on their mattress. Yu heads for the bathroom, which is still musty and warm from its' occupant just moments before. He hurries to shower and join his lover, turning off the lights and curling beside him as Yosuke was splayed out face down, the ice pack balanced precariously on his hip bone.

He was already dozing a little, and only muttered something back as the taller male planted a kiss on his nose and settled down to rest, suddenly exhausted. His adrenaline high had worn off, and he could barely keep his eyes open.

x

The next couple of days passed in a blur, and before the two of them knew it, they'd suddenly become swamped. Work, school, and company seemed to be eating their free time apart from each other, and they hardly had time for dinner, let alone anything else.

Nanako, Dojima, and Adachi would be coming on Sunday, so Yosuke and Yu had done their error best to clear everything for that day. The girl was growing like a weed, and the boys could hardly believe how tall she'd gotten, and how long her hair was, when she had arrived. It had been a few months since they'd seen her in person, and she looked very different than she had in photographs.

"I see you managed to shake your boyfriend off for the day," Yu teased, and his cousin flushed up to her roots, vehemently denying that there was such a person in her life. Yosuke had told him beforehand that Ted was grounded this weekend, for failing a math test. His mother had some strong words for him, and told the blonde to stop taking _quite _so much influence from her own son, which made the brunette roll his eyes. She kicked her shoes off and offered the correct courtesies as she came into their apartment, which was as clean as the day they'd moved in.

"S'good to see you again, kid," Dojima took the time to pat him on the back, and handed him a bag. "I know you're doing fine, but I gave you some extra clothes and cash in there. And no, I won't take them back." He was as gruff as always, if a little bit more gray around the beard.

"Thanks," Yu said it, and meant it genuinely, while Yosuke was busy escorting Nanako and Adachi to the table, where the food was all neatly covered and still freshly steaming. "So, I take it things have been going well between the three of you?"

"Nanako's hit her rebellious streak a bit early, and Adachi never seemed to grow out of his, but," He paused for a moment before sighing, and it was nowhere near as deep or dark as it might've been months ago. "It's going."

"That's good to hear," The young man smiles before lending his ear to his young cousin. "What's the matter?"

"The tea," She says, and her words sound more like a question than anything else. "You're usually so diligent, but you forgot the tea."

He smiles and ruffles her long hair, much to her annoyance. "I didn't forget. Yosuke put the kettle on just before you walked in, so it'll be nice and hot when we get ready to eat."

"No fair! I thought I'd really gotten one up on you this time," She snaps her fingers in mock disappointment, and he can't help chuckling, even as Yosuke ducks into the kitchen to pour the contents of the teapot into five traditional clay cups.

"Maybe next time," He encourages her just as the brunette walks in with their drinks, and he peels the covers off of the food before taking the utensils from the center of the table, and telling them to help themselves.

Everyone presses their hands together, and they give their short thanks for the food, and once they've finished doing that, Nanako breaks out in chatter. The evening revolves around her days at school, what she's been up to with her friends, and pretty much everything that she can recall about recent times in Inaba. Adachi snides in good humor from time to time, Dojima keeps him in line, and the young men add to the conversation when they are questioned or brought up.

For someone that liked to hear himself speak so much, Adachi was surprisingly quiet. Yosuke muttered that the Dojimas must've domesticated him, and Yu had to hold back a guffaw at the thought.

"Oh yeah!" Nanako perked up again, on the tail end of telling them how Teddie had chased Kanji onto the primary school grounds with his pants falling apart to find a dog that had stolen the boy's favorite gift from the thug-turned-fashionisto. "There's this girl named Yuuri, y'know, and she said she heard a song by you recently!"

Although the song was going on the airwaves soon, and the CD was coming out soon, there had been a pre-release online, and it had been up for the past couple of months. A photo from one of his earlier shoots had been linked to his modeling profile, and it had achieved a little bit of recognition this way. Yu had told him that every little bit counted, and the brunette agreed, albeit with a pout. This piece of information seemed to startle both of them. _Kids these days are so advanced_, Yu thought to himself, as his cousin continued to talk.

"She said she really liked it. I told her I knew you, and she freaked out," Nanako said, sounding somewhere between confused and proud. "Anyways, she wanted me to let you know that she'll be buying your album, and she's excited to hear more by you."

"See?" Yosuke's partner elbows him in the side gently, and the brunette feels so moved that he's mouthier than ever.

"Oh man, talk about pressure, ah ha hah," He half-laughs, and feels like sweating bullets. "This is crazy. Who would've thought some ten year old in Inaba would've found my music? Maybe I'm a genius?"

Yu half-heartedly chopped him over the head. "Don't get full of yourself."

"I know, I know," Despite his bravado, the brunette was probably scared half to death about the upcoming release. Insecure and self-depreciative, every sale he would think up some excuse (or joke) for why it had happened, other than the fact that he was simply a successful musician. They continued talking about what he'd been up to, and he found this as good a time as ever to talk about some of the friends they hadn't seen in a while. According to the two policemen, Chie and Akihiko were moving up quickly within the force, and Dojima, for one, wanted to make certain they would be in a worthy department. Energetic, strong kids like them—they'd do well, no matter what division they were placed in, but the investigative bureau certainly could've done with some extra hands. Adachi held up his end, but he certainly played the part of bad cop more often than his stern, but otherwise soft-hearted, partner. Yukiko's beau has a stomach considerably more solid than her friends had thought, and seems to be coming around the inn more and more, if the gossip holds any truth to it. Kanji's making a killing, and his mother and 'girlfriend' couldn't have been any happier, and Naoto's simply taking the world by storm, a gorgeous young woman with words and eyes of steel, practically running the police force by herself.

Adachi seemed to provide most of the information, his earlier silence long since passed—now that he'd been given opportunity, it seemed he'd be chattering forever. Nanako and Yosuke snuck out under the premise of doing the dishes, and went to play games, leaving the three males continuing to catch up on matters, before discussing things a little darker, in the realm of politics and public relations.

Just as the hodgepodge family of three is getting ready to leave for the evening, parting the snoozing brunettes on the couch, Yosuke's phone rings, and he laughs sheepishly, excusing himself while the Dojimas, Narukami, and Adachi say their goodbyes.

"You should come again some time," Yu asserts, deliberately locking eyes with Adachi as he says it, seeing how well the time around his uncle and cousin has softened him up. "I'll be sure to have something a bit sweeter next time."

"You really never miss a thing, kid," Tohru Adachi smirks and shoves his hands in his pockets, standing gauntly as always. Yu was sure he'd never stop quite looking so ill. "How'd you know I liked that sort of stuff?"

"Just a hunch," The young man says, but knows in his mind the distaste the man had shown, on the very few occasions they'd eaten together, for boring arrangements of fruits and red beans. He seemed to prefer decadent ones, and begrudgingly ate whatever he was given, but eased up immediately when cake or something equally frivolous was in front of him. "You three be careful on your way home," This time it's directed at Dojima and his forlorn smile is for his cousin. "I know you'll be a good girl, Nanako. Take care of these two for me, will you?"

"You betcha!" She salutes him dutifully before the waving goodbye, and they disappear down the hall. Like clockwork, his brunette barrels out of the bedroom, shows haphazardly thrown on, and laces yet untied.

"Shit," Yosuke breathes, and Yu, who had been content and comfortable just moments before grew concerned. "Somethin's the matter with my mom."

"Want me to call Dojima? They can't have gotten far." He pulls out his cell phone, regardless of what Yosuke says, telling his uncle to wait for them so that they can take the car back to Inaba.

Once they explain the situation, the detective steps on the gas, and drives hurriedly, although carefully, not wanting to get anyone in this car into an accident with him. Yosuke grips his hand, looking out of the window, his mind clouded with hundreds of thoughts at the moment. Nanako's slumber is somewhat disturbed, and she looks at the two young men from the corner of her eyes, her cousin gripping the brunette's hand just as fervently, and no one says anything, although the car ride is no short one. Adachi seems to be disconnected from the moment entirely, tossing e-mails to someone and checking out in person. Dojima's eyes are mercifully locked to the road, and the three in the back all seem like children trapped in panic, in various states of awareness.

The boys get dropped off on the other side of Yaso-Inaba, nearby the Junes, where Yosuke's family lives. Clumsily inserting his key in the door, he stumbles in to find his dad hunched over his mother, whom is clutching her ankle and breathing in a staggering manner. The noise of the ambulance in the background startles the young man yet again, even though he can't seem to process anything quickly enough.

His father speaks to him, but Yu is taking it in moreso than the brunette, who has since stopped clutching his hand and has gone to his mother's side in the ambulance. The much older male offers the silver-haired young man a ride to the hospital, where the four of them will proceed to have a long night.

The doctors, nurses, and orderlies keep the two men outside of the room updated. Her ankle was the least of their worries, for the time being. It was sprained, but would heal with proper rest and recuperation. Their focus was on her scratchy breathing, so they'd narrowed down the number of tests she'd have to go through, her son's face growing dim and beleaguered as the night carried on.

Yosuke's father entered an hour or so after they'd come, not wanting to face his usually exuberant wife in such a fragile state, but determining that his son wouldn't last too much longer in such an exhausted manner, so they switched. The brunette didn't cry, although it showed in his flushed cheeks and reddened eyes that he badly wanted to. He simply leaned against Yu, and continued to whisper hopeful prayers for his mother's wellbeing.

The boys fell asleep somewhere in the dead of night, wherein Mr. Hanamura had been granted the information they'd all longed to hear—her assumed diagnosis, which wouldn't be completed until further notice.

"We believe that your wife has a case of severe bronchitis, and perhaps a lasting effect of asthma. However, I believe that, given the right treatment, she will be able to continue her daily activities, and will recover completely."

Haruki immediately relaxes, and leans against the wall opposite of the physician. "Thank god." He holds back his tears much like his son had. "Fumiko," The man grasped his wife's hand, more grateful for her life than ever before.

She smiles a little, sounding sleepy, somewhere between dreams and reality. "You and your son both, so emotional. Where'd you get that from?"

He smiles and grasps her hand steadily. "Must be in the genes," He says, just before slipping his hand from the woman's. "I'll just be out to tell him the good news. Narukami-kun's here too." She looks around absently, as though asking him silently to bring him in too, so he nods in response.

The boys were dozing, but Yosuke looked ready to spring at any moment, coiled even though his eyes were closed. "Yosuke…" Yu nudged his partner, eyes at half-mast. "Your dad's come out."

"Already…?" He groans, but gets up and stretches, regardless. Brown eyes meet the darker irises of his father's, and he starts, suddenly, as if infected by his look. "She's alright?"

"She's gonna be fine," Haruki assures Yosuke, grasping his shoulder tenderly, before giving in and pulling his son into a hug, where they both choked back dry sobs. After their moment has passed, with Yu shuffling quietly in the background, Mr. Hanamura pushes the boys through the door, where they greet the lady of the hour.

They only pass pleasantries for a short while, before the doctor comes back, shooing them out of the room yet again, but Fumiko asks for Yu to come back in, by himself, after the man was finished.

Yosuke and his father chat amiably about nothing in particular – work, Junes, current affairs. They got along well enough, despite the rockiness the brunette had faced with him in his early adolescence. It wasn't to say he wasn't still a little scared of his father, but they'd both been very vulnerable this evening-turned-morning.

The silver-haired youth came at the doctor's call a few minutes later, meeting Yosuke's mother alone. She sat up in bed, and although she looked drowsy, her eyes were full of energy and a serious energy.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your Sunday," Mrs. Hanamura says, and Yu can only smile forgivingly, as he's never thought such a thing. It'd been an emergency, after all. "Will you be alright, missing class?"

"I'll be fine," Yu assures her gently, and she sighs before smiling a little.

Suddenly, her tone and topic shift. "I want you to look after him. Even if you're not together, even if you're apart, for some reason or another. If anything happens to me, I want to be able to sleep knowing my boy has someone to count on, and regardless of the circumstances, that seems to be you." Fumiko had never seemed upset in Yosuke's choice, but now that she'd had such a scare, perhaps she'd grown concerned over her son's future? Yu couldn't help but think she was being rather extreme, for someone with a rather well-known and frequently treated illness. "Could you promise me that?"

He was suspicious of her words, and asked a question. "Are you worried? That you're going to die?"

She looked wise beyond her years as she stared out of the window and answered. "Isn't everyone?" He could not contest the query, and sat, startled. "So, will you promise me?"

He swallowed nothing but his anxiety, and squeezed a response out of his dry throat. "Yeah, I promise."

"Good!" She suddenly cheered up once more, and beckoned the rest of her family. "Then, it's time to get you rascals home! I'm gonna be fine, you mooks. Everyone needs to go home and sleep—_especially_ these two. Yosuke, you've got an album coming out soon! Yu, I'm certain you've got exams and work, and everything else, so get to getting!"

"Geez, mom," Yosuke rolled his eyes, but was also very careful about coming up and hugging her before heading out. "Don't be such a party-pooper. If I'd known you were gonna be just fine, I would've stayed in bed to sleep another couple of hours before Inoue-san works me to the bone." He griped with no real malice, so his mother and father snickered a bit. Yu spared yet another glance for the cheerful woman, hoping that the feeling in his gut was nothing more than paranoia. Haruki volunteered to drive them back, and was quiet while Yosuke fell into a doze, and Yu called his uncle to update him on what had happened. The detective promised to bring a gift basket to the woman at a more reasonable hour, and hung up, leaving his nephew to his thoughts.

Yu wished he could concentrate on falling asleep, like his partner had.

x

The next few weeks were hellish. Yosuke's career in the music industry had taken a surprising lift, and it seemed there were many people eager to find out who he was, and what he was about, even though he'd been around, in modeling and photography, for some time. He cracked silly jokes on the morning radio station to which he'd been invited to as a guest, and sat down with Inoue and Tanaka to decide on a travel schedule in the following year, given that his record sold as much as they projected it would.

Yu studied, played instruments and sports, was called to do a thousand things, worked part-time, and passed out more often than not. His partner stumbled in, face down on the mattress at all hours of the night, reeking of perfume and cigarettes—long excursions in bars and meetings with investors that bore lots of gaudy rings and flamboyant clothing—and he woke to find him there before curling up against him. Mornings seemed to be the only time they were guaranteed to find each other these days, but Yosuke assured him that this wouldn't be the case for too much longer. The hype would die off soon, and though his guitar playing would be soon brought to fame (or so Inoue-san said), his personal life, they would be certain, would be kept from the watchful eyes of the media.

Thankfully, his partner didn't seem to mind either way. He'd said that it would be a milestone, in some ways, and Yosuke loved him for having such an open-minded attitude.

However, because they'd gotten to see so little of each other in the past weeks, October had nearly come to an end, and Yu had held onto his thoughts from the hospital with dread for the first few days, and shook the feeling to surprise his lover some time later.

They'd been planning to have a party with their friends for Halloween, and Yosuke just recently had reassured him that it was still on, so he called everyone to make sure they were available, double checking with those in the police force, because they seemed to be busier than ever, but never too busy to clear a night for him. He always felt he was special when he talked with his companions, the way they looked up to him and truly respected his opinion, and he wouldn't change them for anything in the world, no matter how supposedly quirky and off-kilter they were.

The costumes he'd prepared for their party were rather conventional—outfits from both western and eastern folklore. But he'd prepared something more in the realm of popular fantasy, but that was for after-hours.

The Saturday night of the party came quickly, and found the small apartment bustling with activity, everyone from activity carrying food and gifts as they came to visit, dressed in costume. Chie and her boyfriend, Akihiko, wore matching luchadore outfits, Yukiko came as Hanako of the toilet, Kanji as Frankenstein, Teddie (how he'd managed to worm his way in with them, they'd never quite know) was a teddie bear (he'd always wanted to be one, and had been denied several years in a row for some reason), and the costume had been designed entirely by Kanji. Naoto was a fairy or something of similar origin, and Rise, who was busier than ever, seemed to be dressed as Marilyn Monroe, complete with a faux beauty mark.

The group mingled and chattered, catching up, picking up right where they'd left off, laughing frivolously, and teasing each other relentlessly. They were like family, in a way, and although they'd only come to stay for dinner and to enjoy each other's company for a few hours, it had been wonderful, and Yosuke and Yu missed them terribly. They agreed to meet up for a much longer period of time around Christmas, but as the doors closed behind their last lingering guest, the two inhabitants of the apartment surveyed the place, in its' blissful sense of peace.

"I just _know_ you've got something planned," Yosuke hummed, wiping some of the makeup he'd been wearing on his face, as a sort of Kabuki actor for the evening, and had had his false hair tugged at to the point that his scalp was sore. "This sort of holiday is right up your alley."

"You know me too well," Yu slid out of the samurai garb he'd been wearing, and after some time re-emerged, fully dressed in another costume, and held the companion to it on his left arm. "I'd been thinking about it for a while, after all. It did take me quite some time to prepare this."

"You're _cosplaying_?" Yosuke is flustered—more flustered than Yu had expected, and it's a pleasant surprise. "Oh _man_, I _knew_ that whole nurse fetish thing was gonna come back to haunt me."

"You don't like it?" Yu's legs are shaven, and thin, shapely, long under that skimpy dress, which clings to his nonexistent curves. His feet are raised in a pair of large heels, the hat is situated on his crown, and the red lipstick seems to make his lips pop in a strangely alluring manner.

"I-I never said that!" He stammered. "And what's this—some action star thing? Or am I magical girl this time?"

"Mm, something in the middle," Yu says, practically purring. Yosuke turns red, and rushes to the bathroom, only to find the clothes more suitably called something in the realm of a gothic lolita. "It suits you. I thought it might."

"You've got a thing for these corsets and misfit clothes," Yosuke says, initiating a long and airy kiss with his partner. Although he can't deny that something about this getup, and Yu's long, long legs under the hint of the old-fashioned, white dress makes the blood rush down low.

"And your nurse fetish is worse than you thought," Yu teases him as the brunette pushes him down. "Are you gonna do the procedure all by yourself, hmm?" Little Yosuke twitches underneath all those petticoats, and the brunette groans, highly embarrassed.

"Remind me to kill you after I'm done forgetting about how great you look in this dress."

"Done and done," Yu complies, letting Yosuke take the reigns, making up some belligerent fantasy he's obviously been holding back for years, and he swims in a realm of his imagination just the same while they make love that night, a surreal and strange experience that they have.

Little do they know, however, this evening is simply the calm before the storm, and after the storm touches down, the two of them with rue that they hadn't taken more time for the night's luxury.

The tan hand swimming around the pale chest of his tall partner couldn't have cared less at that precise time, however.

"The preparation can wait, _doctor_," Yu says, or maybe doesn't say, but his hands certainly are sure enough when he maneuvers the brunette's fingers around his backside and away from his stockings. "I need you to do surgery—_now_."

Yosuke moaned, continuing with a smirk on his face, and pushed those petticoats up. "If you insist, _onii-chan._"

That night, they are sick—they'd always been walking a tightrope, but it was Halloween, and they let go, giving into carnal desire and dreams they'd never thought to set free before now. And after the night had passed, they determined to never talk about it again, for fear of guilt and perversion swallowing the both of them whole.


End file.
